The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The mountain ash tree provides both abundant food and good nesting cover for this waxwing bird. (Flickr photo by Keith Williams)
My family loves watching birds. We love their bright colors, curious movements and lovely songs.
Many families invite birds to their yards by setting out bird feeders. Providing seeds for birds is wonderful, but providing a home for birds is even more rewarding. We do that through landscaping.
When designing a bird-friendly landscape, we need to understand what birds are looking for when selecting their homes. Birds and all creatures seek food and shelter.
It's not quite that simple. There are over 300 species of birds that fly in the Dakotas. Different birds prefer different habitats. For example, flickers prefer to nest in tall trees while catbirds live happily in shrubs. The more diverse your landscape, the more birds you can attract.
Evergreens are important. Spruce, pine and juniper provide excellent cover for nesting. Evergreens will shield birds from cold winter winds and protect their families from predators. Evergreens are useful as windbreaks for bird feeding stations, too.
Hackberry and bur oak are tall trees that attract birds. These native trees are valued by birds for both the shade and food they provide.
Hawthorn is a great small tree for birds. Its thorny stems can make a tree cat-proof. Hawthorn berries provide food for birds and may brighten our landscapes from fall through spring. Buffaloberry and Russian olive are other thorny, protective trees.
Fruit trees are valuable in bird-friendly landscapes. Plum, chokecherry, mountain ash and crabapple trees provide abundant food and good nesting cover. You may need to battle the birds for some of these fruits!
My favorite shrub for birds is American cranberry bush viburnum. Its berries taste bitter in fall, and birds initially leave the fruits alone. That's good news for us, as we can enjoy the beauty of the bright red fruits in our dull winter landscapes. Over time, the berries mellow out and become a critical source of food in early spring when natural food sources are at a premium. Robins and cedar waxwings will cherish these fruits when they arrive in spring.
Elderberry is another great shrub. It provides nectar-rich flowers in spring and loads of berries in fall. Elderberry is a popular nesting spot for goldfinches.
Other notable shrubs for birds include rugosa rose, chokeberry, serviceberry and dogwood. All of these shrubs provide delicious berries. Thickets of shrubs are used by small birds for sanctuary against predators.
Lastly, beds of flowers will be attractive to many birds. Hummingbirds and orioles, in particular, will appreciate the nectar from flowers in summer. The dried seed heads of flowers and ornamental grasses can nourish birds in winter.
Birds bring beauty, joy and music to our lives. Providing birds with seeds in a bird feeder is a good start. Providing birds with a safe home to raise their families in your yard is the next step.
For more information about gardening, contact your local NDSU Extension agent. Find the Extension office for your county at http://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/county-extension-offices.
