Consolidated List of Plants and the Birds Who Love Them

Hello fellow gardening and creature lovers. I am starting this thread as an attempt to pull information together so that it can then be used as a reference for those of us gardeners trying to plant for birds, butterflies, bees, bats (hmm... Looks like this list is for winged creatures that start with the letter B, but let's try not to be too exclusive). Let us also try to be mindful of whether a plant is invasive or otherwise problematic for the environment.

I respectfully wish for this thread be reserved for comprehensive information, rather than for chat. If anyone feels like chatting about this project on a separate but related thread, please go here http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/710581/

Since I am no expert on this subject, I thought that I would comb through past threads for information and then copy it here. In the meantime, feel free to add whatever you like.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention - let's try not to fill this with links to other threads, but instead add the information directly to our posts (thanks!).

This message was edited Apr 6, 2007 8:52 AM

This message was edited Apr 7, 2007 11:29 AM

This message was edited Apr 8, 2007 12:05 PM

Here's a few........

For trees

American Plum (Prunus americana)
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
Downy Hawthorn (Cratagus mollis)
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
Serviceberry, June berry (Amelanchier)
Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Sour Gum (Nyssa sylvatica)

Shrubs

American Filbert (Corylus americana)
Viburnums (a lot of various species both native and non)
Blue-fruited Dogwood (Cornus obliqua)
Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus)
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Northern Bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica)
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Yellow Twing Honeysuckle (Lonicera prolifera)
Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)
Callicarpa americana (beauty bush)

Forbs

Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata)
Joepyeweed (Eupatorium's)
Liatris
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Milkweeds (Asclepias)
Rosin Weed (Silphium integrifolium)
Pale Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)

For those in the upper-midwest (particularly Wisconsin), this is a fantastic list of native trees, shrubs, and forbs of interest to birds: http://www.for-wild.org/land/wibirdpl.html

Great thread! Really glad somebody started it!

Don't forget Mountain Ash for the Cedar Waxwings.

We might want to try to steer clear of common names if at all possible. Mountain Ash is an excellent suggestion... depending on which Mountain Ash it is.

Sorbus aucuparia is an exotic European Mountain Ash that has naturalized in too many states to list. Sorbus decora and S. americana are indigenous to the eastern US but their native range does not extend down into Maryland so... they would be an exotic, or rather an introduced, species there.

I'm not a purist, there's no documentation of S. americana or S. decora being overly aggressive or invasive anywhere in the eastern US so I'd go for the S. americana which is threatened and endangered in a few areas. Also too, in looking at the natural range of S. americana, it's not inconceivable to me that it might not over a few thousand years have extended its natural range down into MD and it certainly is a great plant for migrating birds.

We have mulberry and wild cherry trees in our "fence row" -- the birds love them (especially the mulberries), but do remember that what goes in also comes out the other end... and bright purple poo doo on a newly waxed car or a lovely patio could make you think of words that aren't usually in your vocabulary...

I think a white-fruited mulberry exists...

I've seen birds eating seeds from black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia) and coneflowers (echinacea)... and last fall, the finches were feasting on the seedpods of a crepe myrtle next to my deck.

For MDers needing more lists, here's three big pdf files (too big for a post):

http://www.mdflora.org/publications/natives2plant_lists.html

As for nativity of Sorbus americana, see here:

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/sorame/all.html

I have seen decent stands of American mountain ash (rowan for Resin), and collected seed, along the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC and TN. This plant really stands out in the dormant winter landscape due to the incredibly bright and persist fruit clusters.

Can't speak to MD sites, but the federal database references MD as does Trees of the Southeastern United States by Duncan and Duncan. I'm sure it would be along the Appalachian ridges there, but not in the Piedmont or Coastal Plain. It sure looks like it supports a good range of avian life.

Now, pelletory might consider that moose management mechanism...

S. decora range-
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SODE3

S. americana range-
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SOAM3

If you click on the Feds distribution map, it will enlarge and the actual counties in which the plant is documented as occurring will appear.

Red Mulberry would be a great choice! White Mulberry and hybrids, not so good.

I really like the way terryr posted her organized lists. How about if we try to follow her lead?

Thanks!
:~)

So what is the correct Mountain Ash for my area?

I bow to the thread-starter's wishes. But my fingers hurt.

Building on the above-contributions, here's a bunch of woody wildlife winners growing around this central KY landscape:

Conifers

Abies concolor white fir
Abies homolepis Nikko fir
Abies koreana Korean fir
Abies nordmanniana Nordmann fir
Juniperus virginiana red cedar
Picea omorika Serbian spruce
Picea orientalis Oriental spruce
Pinus strobus white pine
Thuja plicata western red cedar


Trees

Aesculus spp. buckeyes
Amelanchier spp. serviceberries
Asimina triloba pawpaw
Carya cordiformis bitternut hickory
Carya laciniosa shellbark hickory
Carya ovata shagbark hickory
Castanea pumila dwarf chinkapin
Catalpa speciosa catalpa
Celtis occidentalis hackberry
Cercis canadensis redbud
Cladrastis kentukea yellowwood
Cornus amomum silky dogwood
Cornus florida flowering dogwood
Crataegus mollis downy hawthorn
Diospyros virginiana persimmon
Franklinia alatamaha Franklin tree
Hamamelis virginiana witch hazel
Ilex decidua possumhaw holly
Ilex opaca American holly
Juglans nigra black walnut
Liriodendron tulipifera tulip poplar
Magnolia spp. magnolias
Malus clones crabapples
Morus rubra red mulberry
Nyssa sylvatica blackgum
Prunus spp. wild native cherries
Ptelea trifoliata hoptree, wafer ash
Quercus spp. oaks (about a dozen species)
Robinia pseudoacacia black locust
Zanthoxylum americanum prickly ash

Shrubs

Aralia spinosa devil's walkingstick
Aronia spp. chokeberries
Asimina triloba pawpaw
Callicarpa americana beautyberry
Castanea pumila dwarf chinkapin
Clethra alnifolia summersweet
Cornus racemosa gray dogwood
Euonymus atropurpureus eastern wahoo
Fothergilla gardenii dwarf fothergilla
Hamamelis virginiana witch hazel
Ilex decidua possumhaw holly
Ilex verticillata winterberry holly
Itea virginica Virginia sweetspire
Myrica pensylvanica bayberry
Rhus spp. sumacs
Rubus spp. blackberries and black raspberries
Sambucus canadensis elderberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus coralberry
Viburnum spp. viburnum (about 100 different ones now)
Zanthoxylum americanum prickly ash

Vines

Bignonia capreolata crossvine
Clematis virginiana virgin's bower
Lonicera flava yellow trumpet honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens red trumpet honeysuckle
Parthenocissus quinquefolia Virginia creeper
Toxicodendron radicans poison ivy
Vitis spp. wild grapes

Additional wildlife support can include rock piles, soil piles, brush piles, wood piles, old fence board piles, snags, pruning errors, meadows, fencelines, woodlands, and a raised deck -- all will offer shelter to something or another that feeds on the listed plants.

Virgina Pine is a good tree to have. Have it at work and have heard nothing but good things.

Say pelletory, how techincal do you want to get? S. americana has been documented as having occurred in your state but not S. decora. I'd think either one would be perfectly fine for you but that's just me. I've now ordered both for my property athough S. decora is the species indigenous to my County. This will be the first year I will be planting them. I'm really excited about being able to add them. I love Cedar Waxwings.

I think Crataegus mollis would be a great addition for wrightie but I'd like to second terryr's Corylus americana, Lindera benzoin, and Ceanothus americanus, and toss Physocarpus opulifolius into the ring. I am particularly fond of Physocarpus opulifolius.

This is for the North Texas region around DFW

Trees I have that the birds love:
Persimmon-Diospyros texana
Chittamwood-Bumelia lanuginosa
Pear-Pyrus communis

Trees I have for bees and butterflies:
Pear-Pyrus communis
Chinese Pistache-Pistacia chinensis(invasive)
Desert Bubba Willow-Chilopsis linearis
Fruitless Plum-Prunus cerasifera
Persimmon-Diospyros texana

Shrubs I have that the birds, bees and butterflies love:
Roughleaf Dogwood-Cornus drummondii (invasive)
Purple Sage-Leucophyllum frutescens