ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070008
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Hoein' and Growin'
SOURCE: PAT POLENTZ
Creating a landscape that is hospitable to birds does not mean an overgrown, messy yard. If you are interested in creating a lawn that attracts more birds ask yourself several questions. What kinds of birds visit your lawn? What kinds of plants grow there? Which birds would you like to attract and which plants would be complementary to your landscape and personal tastes? Selecting plant species that bring in the birds you'd like to see in your environment is not as difficult as you may think.
Bird variety is the greatest where two or more different plant communities come together. Rapidly growing thickets at a wood's edge usually yield many fruits and support insect populations. The homeowner can approximate such conditions by planting a shrub border of one or several plant varieties, which provides shelter, nesting places, protection from predators and food for several bird species. Use different levels of border vegetation because nesting, feeding and singing rarely occur at the same elevation. Backyard trees will attract more birds if accompanied by understory plants.
Try using mixed ground covers. The traditional lawn has been labeled by some as one of the most destitute bird habitats on Earth. Ground covers also produce valuable supplies of fruits. Avoid raking away all leaf litter so that ground-feeding birds such as the rufous-sided towhee, fox sparrow, white-throated sparrow and robin can seek out earthworms and insects.
Consider the following list of landscape plants to attract a variety of birds to your yard. These plants may be viewed at the Virginia Tech Horticulture Gardens:
Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is a less-manicured evergreen that provides prickly cover and nesting sites for the northern mockingbird, brown thrasher, gray catbird and chipping sparrow. At least 54 species of birds are known to eat the small fruit.
Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is a well-known evergreen whose seeds are eaten by more that 37 bird species. Mourning doves frequently raise their young within the white pine's branches and its a favorite of cavity-nesters such as chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers.
Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) produces red fruits that rarely last through the winter. The common flicker, pileated woodpecker, summer tanager, evening grosbeak and six species of thrush are just a few of the dozen birds that find the fruit palatable. So, don't give up on this tree.
Downy serviceberry (Amalanchier arborea) is one of the first trees to flower in the Virginia woodlands. In early June it produces small purple fruits that the ruffed grouse, wood and hermit thrushes, robin, mockingbird, red-eyed vireo, northern oriole and cardinal quickly devour.
Washington hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) is a beautifully fruited small tree for late fall and early winter interest. Its scarlet berries are preferred by cedar waxwings and fox sparrows, and the tangled, thorny branches provide significant refuge and nesting sites for at least 18 bird species.
Northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is something of a wandering shrub, producing stoloniferous growth away from the parent plant. But the waxy, blue-gray berries borne along the stems supply the yellow-rumped warbler and about 25 other species with an excellent food source. If planted near wetlands, the bayberry is a common nesting site for the red-winged blackbird.
Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea) is a spectacular plant whose orange-red berries attract the eastern bluebird. Our specimens have also harbored a robin family more than once.
Bearberry, (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Bearberry cotoneaster (Contoneaster dammeri and Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) are three easily grown ground covers that attract dozens of bird species because of the fleshy red berries they each produce at different times of the growing season. Wintergreen may be the most challenging of the three for the gardener as it needs shade, moisture and rich acidic soils. Its berries resemble small, glossy marbles that smell great when ruptured, that is if you like wintergreen mints or teaberry gum. It creates a natural look under rhododendrons and azaleas. Look for birds using the low, arching branches of the bearberry cotoneaster for ground shelter and protection.
Sources for more information on planting to attract birds are: "Trees, Shrubs and Vines for Attracting Birds" by R.M. Degraaf and G.M. Witman (University of Massachusetts Press, 1979), "Landscaping for Wildlife" by C.L. Henderson (Minnesota's Bookstore, 1987), "The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds" by S.W. Kress (C. Scribner & Sons, 1985).
Pat Polentz is a master gardener.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB