Invite Birds to Your Backyard!

Invite birds to your backyard! Think beyond a typical ornamental landscape; imagine your yard as potential wildlife habitat. Get creative and design your yard as a naturescape to provide birds and other wildlife with their four requirements: food, water, cover, and nesting sites.

You can start from scratch with a brand new yard, or add to one that has an existing landscape. No matter what the size of your yard, if you choose a variety of plants from the list below and plant them densely you will be on your way to attracting birds. The best way to start is to make a sketch of your yard and then remember these principles as you plan your design:

Native plants are best:

Birds are attracted to native plants that they are familiar with. These plants are best adapted to the area, requiring less water and less maintenance. (Montana native plants are marked with N in the list below.)

Perennials:
❒ Bee Balm Monarda fistulosa: 2-3’. Hummingbird magnet! Lilaccolored blooms mid season. Cultivars in shades of red and pink. N
❒ Blanket Flower Gallardia aristata: 2’. Prolific orange and yellow flowers
mid and late season. Juncos and other sparrows eat the seeds. N
❒ Columbine Aquilegia spp.: 1-2’. Spectacular nodding flowers in many
colors. Early season blooms. Favored by hummingbirds. N
❒ Coneflower Echinacea angustifolia: 2-3’. Light purple flowers. Blooms
mid season. Seed heads are a food source for birds in winter. N
❒ Dotted Gayfeather Liatris punctata: 1’. Vibrant purple flowers late
season. Attracts hummingbirds in summer. Provides seeds for
finches and sparrows in fall. N
❒ Firecracker Penstemon Penstemon eatonii: 2’. Bright red flowers in
early-mid season. A favorite of hummingbirds.
❒ Goldenrod Solidago missouriensis or canadensis: 2-3’. Yellow flowers
in late season. Seeds in fall are a favorite of sparrows and finches. N
❒ Prairie Coneflower Ratibida columnifera: 2’. Yellow blooms mid and
late season. Prolific bloomer bears seeds enjoyed by many songbirds. N
❒ Salvia Salvia spp.: 1-2’. Vibrant shades of blue, purple, and rose spires
bloom mid season. Attracts hummingbirds.
❒ Showy Fleabane Erigeron speciosus: 2’. Showy purple flowers in
mid-late season. Seedheads provide a winter food source for birds. N
❒ Sunflower Helianthus maximiliani: 3-4’. Yellow flowers in late
season. Seeds are very popular with chickadees, goldfinches, siskins,
sparrows. Common Sunflower Helianthus annus is easily planted by
seed each year. N

Create “habitat layers”:

• Plant tall canopy trees for nesting and roosting sites.
• Shrubs and small trees provide fruit, berries, seeds,
nesting sites, and cover for security
• Perennial and annual flowers, grasses and ground covers
provide seeds for birds, nectar for hummingbirds, and
flowers for pollinators

Cluster plants in masses: Group 3 or more of the same plant species together to create an attractive look and attract more birds.

Plant for density: Birds like dense groupings of plants with branches touching and intertwining, creating corridors of security. Large densely planted patches are more desirable than scattered plants.

Lose some lawn: Mowed grass provides no shelter and limited food. Make wide planting beds under trees filled with shrubs and flowers. Leave paths of mowed lawn between plantings.

Provide water: Treat your birds to a bird bath unless you are lucky enough to live by a stream or pond.

Be a little messy: Leave some leaf litter and woody debris for mulch, don’t over prune, & leave flower seedheads for winter food.

Here at Birds & Beasleys, we have plenty of supplies to help you Invite Birds to Your Backyard! Visit us for seed, fresh suet cakes, birdbaths, birdhouses and more!

Article Resource:

https://sacajaweaaudubon.org/

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 at 7:24 pm and is filed under Articles, News & Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.