NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS FOR ATTRACTING BIRDS

 

 
TREES:
NAME
FOOD
COVER
REMARKS
Acer rubrum
   Red Maple		 Good Good Moist soils, attractive fall color
Acer saccharinum
   Silver Maple 		Good Good
Amelanchier canadensis
   Shadbush		 Excellent Excellent Eaten by 40 species
Betula lutea
   Yellow Birch		 Good Fair Winter food
Betula papyrifera
   Paperbark Birch 		Good Fair Attractive tree for the yard
Celtis occidentalis
   Hackberry 		Good Fair Eaten by 40 species
Chamaecyparis thyoides
   White Cedar		 Excellent Excellent Used for food and nesting
Comus florida
   Flowering Dogwood 		Excellent Good
Crataegus phaenopyrum
   Washington Hawthorne 		Good
 Good Heavily fruited
Crataegus sp.
   Hawthornes 		Good Good Eaten by 80 species
Fraxinus americana
   American Ash		 Excellent Good
Ilex opaca
   American Holly		 Good Good Marginally hardy in w. MA
Juglans nigra
   Black Walnut 		Good Good Roots toxic, plant alone
Juniperus virginiana
   Red Cedar 		Excellent Excellent Eaten by 50 species
Liquidambar styraciflua
   Sweet gum		 Good Good Beautiful landscape tree
Malus floribunda
   Flowering Crab 		Excellent Good Favorite of Mockingbirds
Morus rubra
   Red Mulberry		 Excellent Good Avoid M. alba
Nyssa sylvatica
   Black Gum		 Good Good Eaten by many species
Picea glauca
   White Spruce		 Fair Excellent Suffers from drought
Picea rubra
   Red Spruce		 Good Excellent Nesting for Grosbeaks
Pinus rigida
   Pitch Pine 		Good Good
Pinus strobus
   White Pine		 Good Good
Prunus pensylvanica
   Bird Cherry		 Excellent Fair Pretty reddish Bark
Prunus serotina
   Black Cherry 		Excellent Fair Berries red turning black
Quercus palustris
   Pin Oak 		Good Good Nice shade tree as well
Sassafras albidum
   Sassafras Tree 		Good Fair
Sorbus americana
   Mountain Ash 		Good Fair Winter food, brt. orange berry
Tsuga canadensis
Hemlock		 Good Good

 

SHRUBS:
NAME
 FOOD COVER REMARKS
Alnus rugosa
   Speckled Alder 		Good Good Not the most attractive shrub, good in wild areas
Aronia arbutifolia
   Red Chokeberry 		Good Fair Red Fruit
Aronia melanocarpa
   Black Chokeberry 		Good Fair Black Fruit
Aronia prunifolia
   Purple Chokeberry 		Good Fair Purple Fruit
Ceanothus americanus
   New Jersey tea		 Excellent Fair Attractive to Hummingbirds
Cephalanthus occidentalis
   Buttonbush		 Excellent Good Moist soils, adaptable
Conus alternifolia
   Pagoda Dogwood 		Good Good Lg. shrub, good fall color
Cornus amomum
   Silky Dogwood 		Good Fair Porcelain blue berries
Cornus racemosa
   Panicled Dogwood		 Excellent Fair Spreading shrub, aggressive
Cornus stolonifera
   Red Osier 		Good Fair Red twigs nice winter color
Gaylussacia baccata
   Black Huckleberry		 Good Fair
Hamamelis virginiana
   Witch Hazel		 Good Fair Yellow flowers, late Oct.
llex verticillata
   Winterberry		 Good Fair Winter food, likes moist soil
Juniperus communis
   Old Field Juniper		 Good Good Spreading shrub
Lindera benzoin
   Spicebush		 Excellent Fair Early Flowering, moist soils
   attractive scarlet &uit
Magnolia stellata
   Star Magnolia		 Good Fair Pretty white flowers,
   small shrub
Myrica pensylvanica
   Bayberry		 Excellent Fair Winter food, waxy, scented
   fruits
Prunus maritima
   Beach Plum		 Good Fair Seashore plant
Rhus aromatica
   Fragrant Sumac		 Good Good Winter food
Rhus typhina
   Staghorn Sumac		 Good Fair Last resort food, spreading shrub
Rubus alleghensis
   Wild Blackberry		 Good Fair
Rubus canadensis
   Hornless Blackberry		 Good Fair Rasberries and Blackberries eaten by over 
     100 species
Rubus strigosus
   Red Rasberry		 Good Poor
Sambucus canadensis
   American Elder		 Excellent Good Likes moist soils
Sambucus pubens
   Red Elder		 Excellent Good
Symphoricarpos albus
   Snowberry		 Good Fair
Vaccinium corymbosum
   Highbush Bluberry		 Excellent Fair
Vaccinium angustifolium
   Lowbush Blueberry		 Excellent Fair
Viburnum acerifolium
   Maple Leaf Viburnum		 Excellent
 Fair Small shrub, to 4'
Viburnum cassinoides
   Wild Raisin		 Excellent Good
 Fruits changing from whitish to pink to
   blue-black
Viburnum dentatum
   Arrowwood		 Good Good Reddish-purple fall color
Viburnum lentago
   Nannyberry		 Good
 Good Winter food
Viburnum prunifolium
   Black Haw		 Good Good Fruit blue-black
 

VINES:
NAME
 FOOD COVER REMARKS
Campsis radicans
   Trumpet Vine 		Excellent Poor Orange flowers for
   Hummingbirds
Lonicera sempervirens
   Coral Honeysuckle		 Excellent Poor Attractive to Hummingbirds
Smilax rotundifolia
   Greenbriar 		Good Fair Very Thorny
Vitis labrusca
   Fox Grape 		Good Fair The grapes are eaten by over 70 species
Vitis vulpine
   Frost Grape		 Good Fair
 
PERENNIALS:
Even the addition of some native perennials and grasses can help attract birds to your garden.
Providing some shrubs near the perennial bed can provide cover and nesting sites for some of these birds as well.
Plants to attract Songbirds:
Andropogon sp.
    Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, Broom Sedge
Aster species
    New England Aster, Flat-Topped Aster, Smooth Aster, Heart-Leaf Aster, New York Aster, Aromatic Aster
    are some examples of good choices.
Cassia hebecarpa
    Wild Senna
Coreopsis sp.
    Tickseed, especially the taller varieties.
Echinacea purpurea
    Purple Coneflower
Liatris pycnostachya
    Blazing Star other species work well too
Monarda fistulosa
    Wild Bergamot
Panicum virgatum
    Switch Grass
Penstemon sp.
    Beard Tongue - There are a variety of colors and sizes
Phlox sp.
    Garden Phlox, Wild Blue Phlox, Mountain Phlox, Ozark Phlox
Rudbeckia sp.
    Black Eyed Susan Don't just use the common species, there are lots of lovely, multi-flowered varieties
    that are great in the garden.
PERENNIALS:
Plants to attract Hummingbirds:
Hummingbirds are often attracted to red-flowered plants but will also visit a variety of plants which have tube flowers where nectar is stored. This list represents a combination of both of those types of plants. Cluster red flowers together to better attract hummers to your garden.
Aquilegia canadensis
    Wild Columbine
Asclepias tuberosa
    Butterfly Weed
Hibiscus moscheutos
    Marsh Mallow
Liatris pycnostachya
    Blazing Star
Lobelia cardinalis
    Cardinal Flower
Lupinus perennis
    Wild Lupine (blue flowers only)
Monarda didyma
    Bee Balm Has red flowers which are tube shaped!
Oenothera fruticosa
    Sundrops
Penstemon sp.
    Beard Tongues These have tube flowers which are attractive to the hummingbirds
Phlox divaricata
    Wild Blue Phlox
Silene regia, S. virginica
    Royal Catchfly, Fire Pink - Both species have red flowers

 

 

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Courtesy of The Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Inc