Attract fall birds with berry-filled plants
The secret to a bird-friendly backyard is fruit-filled trees and shrubs.
flowers are often the first thing you notice about a landscape, and they’re quite lovely. But behind those showy blooms are the true backbones of a garden: Trees and shrubs. And birds absolutely adore fruiting trees and
shrubs in particular. These larger specimens set the stage for the flowers that come and go with the seasons, and they have benefits beyond four-season visual interest. The key to getting birds to stick around your yard is providing the necessities of life. Berry-filled trees and shrubs, and seed-bearing flowers offer food and shelter.
Coincidentally, these same essentials are attractive to insects, which birds gladly snack on. As my mentor, George “Doc” Abraham, used to say, “Your backyard is for the birds. They made a deal—you feed them and they’ll gobble all your bugs.” The benevolent gardener gets the best part of the deal: Fewer pesky insects flying around the backyard without using potentially harmful pesticides.
Doc and his wife, Katy, were avid birders, and their garden proved it. They provided feeders and a bath, of course. But what really clinched the deal for birds was the abundance of places to nest and hide—and food. Pine, hemlock, spruce and hedges of yew provided shelter to nesters. Meanwhile, elderberry and serviceberry fed cardinals, grosbeaks and tanagers, while sumacs satisfied chickadees and conifer seeds nourished finches. The many species in the Abraham’s garden—both plants and birds—made it a true bird enthusiast’s paradise.
As you consider adding more trees and shrubs to your landscape, it’s easy to rely on whatever you find on sale at the big box store. But some of those selections are nonnatives with low value for wildlife, or even invasive. Native shrubs are usually better—they support animals and don’t become garden thugs, taking over the place.