Airplanes aren’t the only things that fly over our city.
Houston and the Gulf Coast region lie beneath one of
the largest fly paths of North American migratory birds. Spring is the best time to catch neotropical migrants in all their glorious color. Whether birds are passing through or whether they’re year-round residents, you can attract them to your yard by providing shelter, food and water.
SHELTER
Evergreen trees and shrubs in the landscape encourage feathered friends to visit or establish residency in your garden by providing shelter throughout the year. Plant
materials with dense foliage offer refuge from predators and bad weather. Trees such as pines, eastern red cedar and live oaks afford excellent habitat for resting or nesting.
Shrubs like yaupon and other hollies, wax myrtle, cherry laurel and agarita have sufficiently dense foliage to provide shelter for birds as well. Thick evergreen vines — coral honeysuckle and Carolina yellow jessamine, for example — provide year-round shelter, while deciduous vines such as Virginia creeper and trumpet vine offer good coverage in summer.
Another fruit-bearing shrub that will attract birds is
leatherleaf mahonia.
FOOD
Food for birds falls into three categories: seeds, fruits and nectar. These foods can be provided naturally in the landscape through appropriate plant materials and/or
through introduced feeders.
Large seeds like pecans and acorns appeal to bluejays, crows and woodpeckers. However, smaller, more easily-cracked acorns from live oaks and red oaks are just as
attractive to these birds, and smaller seeds also appeal to cardinals, chickadees, titmice, finches, grosbeaks and sparrows. Sunflowers and other members of the daisy
family provide the best seeds for these birds. By planting annual sunflowers, blackeyed Susans and purple coneflowers in your yard, you’ll be supplying dietary
delicacies for these smaller, seed-eating birds. Leave sunflowers standing for the winter or suspend the dried flower heads from a convenient tree limb for bird food.
Many birds love the seeds from native grasses. Indian grass, eastern gama grass, inland sea oats and Lindheimer’s muhly all produce seeds that appeal to certain birds, especially the painted and indigo buntings. Native grasses make a nice substitute for stiff shrubs and lend graceful form and soft texture to the landscape.
Mockingbirds, brown thrashers, bluebirds, robins, cedar waxwings and warblers feed primarily on fruit. Many beautiful, berry-producing plants attract these birds to the home landscape. Yaupon, possumhaw and other hollies produce gorgeous red berries that mockingbirds and robins find especially delicious. Warren’s Red is a cultivar of possumhaw holly that has especially large and bright red berries. Best fruiting of possumhaw occurs when the tree grows in partial shade to full sun.
If mockingbirds are a favorite, consider including rough-leaf dogwood in your garden. It is a large shrub that sports clusters of small, milky-white berries late
summer through fall, and mockingbirds find these berries irresistible. Also appealing to mockingbirds are the bluish-black fruits of rusty blackhaw viburnum and the bright purple berries of American beautyberry.
Many birds enjoy the fruit of Carolina buckthorn, a small tree that gets about 15 inches tall and functions very well as an understory tree. Cedar waxwings thrive on the little blue berries of the eastern red cedar. Only the female tree of this species produces berries, so make sure you select a tree with blue berries on it if purchasing one at a nursery.
Other fruit-bearing shrubs that will attract birds include leatherleaf mahonia, coralberry, nandina and several species of sumac. In addition, the fruit of Mexican
plum will entice small mammals into the landscape.
Nectar is the food of hummingbirds, and almost any deep-throated flower is a nectar flower. Hummingbirds especially love the flowers found on trumpet vine,
crossvine, coral honeysuckle, autumn sage (salvia greggii), flame acanthus, Turk’s cap and lantana. Besides keeping these varietals in your garden, it doesn’t hurt to provide a little extra temptation with nectar in readily-available garden feeders.
WATER
Birds need water for bathing and drinking. A birdbath meets the need for both and will draw a variety of birds to your yard. Be sure to keep your birdbath clean and
filled with fresh water. Even more attractive is a small pool with water dripping on a rock at the edge. Rocks or an old stump placed near the water also make attractive
post-bath preening sites.
Use this spring to plant the trees, shrubs, grasses, vines and perennials that will offer refuge and/or food for birds in your garden. Although fall is the better time to
plant woody and perennial plant material, you still can plant containerized plants in the spring. Be sure to keep spring-planted material mulched and well watered during the hot summer. With any of these plants in your landscape, you’ll not only enjoy the beautiful flowers, fruits and seeds they produce, but also the beauty and lively activity of the birds these plants attract.
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All photos in this article courtesy the Fort Worth
Botanic Garden
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