Trees and Shrubs for Birds

Al Hanners is a retired geologist who worked worldwide for a major U.S. oil company for nearly five decades.

We are losing bird habitat, and hence native birds, at an alarming rate. In the quarter of a century I have lived near St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham, I've lost about two thirds of the native species that used to come into my yard and bird feeders. That was in spite of considerable effort to create an 'oasis' on the edge of medical offices and parking lots. Loss of habitat will continue because Bellingham officials are planning for 31,600 new residents that will require 4,800 new homes.

Birds need food, water and places to nest, and sanctuary from hawks. It behooves those who care about native birds to endeavor to do what they can to substitute for loss of habitat. We can't grow enough bird food in our yards but we can grow trees and shrubs that produce fruit, nuts and nectars consumed by birds. Moreover, we can refrain from feeding alien and aggressive native birds that are causing loss of native birds that exacerbate the loss of habitat.

This article covers choice species of trees and shrubs that are suitable for many yards west of the Cascades, and other trees and shrubs that would be suitable for some yards. Birds that have been observed feeding on specific tree and shrub species are listed. However, which birds appear in individual yards depends to a considerable extent on the surrounding habitat. Remarks on propagating trees and shrubs and on bird feeding stations follow.

Comments on nomenclature may be useful. Common names of bird species are standardized and in common use by birders and birding field guides. Those common names are used in this article. That is not true of plants. Some plant species not only have more than one common name, and common names may be different in different regions and countries. This article uses the common name most used in our area west of the Cascades. The scientific name is italicized. You do not have to remember the scientific plant name. Just use it to be certain you plant the species recommended in this article. For example, if you plant wax myrtle, be sure it is Myrica californica. If you plant hardy fuchsia, be sure it is Fuchsia magellanica.

Bird species listed below with each tree and shrub have been reported to feed there. However, which birds feed on trees and shrubs in individual yards depends to some extent on the surrounding habitat.

Red-flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum, a native shrub seldom more than six feet tall. Male rufous hummingbirds come in March. By that time, red-flowering currants are blooming and the red color will bring hummingbirds into your yard. In wild conditions, red-flowering currants grow in very well drained places where the soil is very dry during the heat of summer. If you water them in your yard at that time, they will succumb to root rot and die. Red-flowering currants can be grown from hardwood cuttings collected in wild places.

Fuchsia, Fuchsia magellanica, is also called durable fuchsia. Fuchsia magellanica is a shrub with many trunks that are upright. Stems will die during many winters but new stems grow in the spring. Best in moist soil with sun part of the day. Blooms from June to late summer. Hummingbirds feed on the nectar.

Wax myrtle, Myrica californica, typically grows in wet to moist soils, but is drought tolerant. The fruit are purplish nutlets coated with wax. These bird species find them tasty: bushtits, chickadees, ruby-crowned kinglets, crows, and flickers.

Filbert, Corylus avellana, is a relative of our native hazelnut, but much more productive of nuts. Filberts are alien shrubs naturalized and common in roadside ditches where Steller's jays have planted them in soft earth. Steller's jays will collect them and hide them in soft earth in August before they are ripe enough for human taste.

Blue elderberry, Sambucus cerulea, is a native shrub up to about 10 feet tall. The fruit are bluish and ripen in autumn. They are eaten by robins and varied thrush. Can be grown from hardwood cuttings.

The following trees and shrubs will provide robins with fruit from early summer through winter.

Red elderberry, Sambucus racemosa, a native shrub up to about 10 feet tall that has red berries when ripe. Can be grown from hardwood cuttings.

Mountain-ash, Sorbus aucuparia, an alien horticultural tree up to about 30 feet tall and very productive of small orange fruit.

Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster lacteus, is an alien horticultural shrub seldom over five feet tall. It can be used to cover a fence or wall. The red fruit are ripe in winter. Robins find it attractive when other food is covered by snow.

Birds eat fruit of a number of other plants. Some of them are listed below.

Pyracantha, Pyracantha coccinea. There are several species of pyra-cantha. If you want to attract birds, be certain you have this species. It grows in sunny moist soil. The fruit is orange to reddish orange and ripens in late summer to early autumn. Robins eat the fruit.

Salal, Gaultheria shallon. Salal is a low shrub suitable as understory in a shaded, wooded area. The fruit are purplish when ripe in summer and are eaten by robins.

Indian-plum, Oemleria cerasiformis. Indian-plum is a shrub or small tree up to 15 feet tall but usually shorter. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. It produces fruit best in sunny locations. The fruit is dark bluish with a pit, bitter but edible and eaten by birds.

Serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia, is called 'Saskatoon' in Canada. Serviceberry is a shrub or small tree up to 15 feet tall. It grows in dry sunny locations. The fruit is globular, black and less than one centimeter broad. It's so delicious that people may find it difficult to leave some for the birds.

Roses, Rosa sp. Rosehips, the fruit produced by all species of roses, has by far the highest amount of vitamin C of any fruit. Perhaps that is the reason rosehips are never eaten by birds. The hips remain on the bushes until spring when they are black and rotten.

Red ozier dogwood, Cornus stolonifera. The fruit is white, berry-like, contains a somewhat flattened stone, and is bitter and inedible. I have not been able to find anyone who has seen a bird eating it.

Silverberry, Elaeagnus commutatta. The fruit is white and contains seeds. It hangs on the bush until spring when it is black and rotten. Bellingham resident Vikki Jackson once saw a chickadee pecking at the seeds.

Sexual reproduction is from seeds. It's not recommended here for most amateurs because it can be quite difficult. Asexual reproduction from hardwood cuttings will be treated here because it is easier. Moreover, some plants have male and female flowers on separate plants. Both sexes need to be in close proximity for fertilization. By using cuttings or layering, the sex of the new plants can be assured.

Collect cuttings in February or March before the buds begin to open. Cuttings from branchlets that grew the previous season and have only vegetative growth are preferable. Plant them while still fresh, if feasible. If not, usually cuttings can be preserved for a few days by burying them in a shallow trench and keeping them damp.

Cuttings of red ozier dogwood, Cornus stolonifera, and black twinberry, Lonicera invulucrata, can be planted directly where you want the plants to grow. Open a hole not much larger than the cutting and deep enough for the bottom of the cutting to be in moist soil in the dry season. Pack earth against the cutting and water it if the soil is dry.

Plants from cuttings of red-flowering currants, red and blue elderberries, and Indian-plums can be started as follows.

Fill one or more two-gallon pots with a mixture of one part perlite and two parts peat moss. Trim cuttings so that two or three viable buds will protrude when the cutting base is approximately at the bottom of the pot. Wet the bottom inch or two of the cutting and then dip it into a rooting hormone. Make a hole in the mixture with a stick slightly larger than the cutting, insert the cutting, and pack the fill about it. Water profusely to insure that all the mix is wet. Place the pot where it will be free of frost and have no direct sunshine. Close to the north side of a house usually is a good place. Water daily. After about one month, inspect the cuttings for root development and transplant them when ready.

Some shrubs with multiple slender stems can be reproduced by layering. Layering usually is practical for people who want to grow a few shrubs for friends. Fuchsia magellanica and salal, Gautheria shallon, can be started that way. Dig a shallow trench pointing away from the shrub. Lay a slender stem with the base still attached to the parent shrub in the trench and the top extending beyond the trench. Cover the shrub with a thin layer of earth and put a rock on it to hold it in place. Keep it wet. When adequate new roots have developed, cut the new plant from the parent and plant it where you want.

Some years ago salmonella spread by infected excrement caused an alarming decline in the population of birds that frequent bird feeders. Do not use flat tray bird feeders. If you do, excrement from diseased birds will contaminate bird food and infect other birds. Instead, use feeders that disperse seeds from a central container into a narrow tray.

Feed millet and black sunflower seeds from separate feeders. Don't feed mixed bird food. Birds will dump seeds on the ground in their search for the seeds they want. Other birds will sit on the edge of the tray while cracking black sunflower seeds and defecating on the seeds below and spread disease. Moreover, seeds on the ground attract rats. That is the reason some neighborhood associations forbid feeding birds.

Do not hang your bird feeders in a tree because that makes them vulnerable to squirrels. Instead hang them from a tight line from your house to a tree. A 50-pound test fishing line would be a good choice. Hang your bird feeders from stiff wire hooks, with the bottom of the feeders at least four feet above the ground. That way you can not only avoid squirrels, but also easily move the feeders to a fresh spot where there is no excrement.

Feed only pure suet. Do not feed suet containing seeds or peanut butter. If you do house sparrows and starlings are very likely to dominate the feeder and squeeze out native birds. Native birds coming to my pure suet feeder include bushtits, chickadees, flickers, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers, and an occasional song sparrow. Do not feed crows. They eat eggs and young of other native birds.

Bushtits and chickadees are the principal birds that consume insects that damage trees and shrubs. With good bird habitat in your yard and a good feeding station, you will not have to spray pesticides to protect your trees and shrubs. If you use pesticides, you will not have butterflies.

Put a chickadee bird box in your yard as far from the feeding station as possible. An unpainted bird box designed for swallows would also serve for chickadees if placed in a somewhat different habitat. If chickadees use the box you may find that the parent chickadees are feeding their young pure suet.

Pure suet is hard to find. I used to buy pure suet at the Wild Bird Chalet in Bellingham. That business was recently sold to a new owner. We hope that the policy has not changed. You also can make pure suet yourself.

Ed note: You can get pure suet currently at the Wild Bird Chalet..

The bird feeding station should have a sanctuary about 15 feet from the feeders so that birds can hide if a hawk appears. The sanctuary should be an evergreen tree or shrub to provide cover in the winter. Western cedar provides about the right density if the sides are not severely trimmed, but cut off the top to keep it from becoming too tall. It should be limbed to the ground to provide habitat for towhees. However, usually cedars need to be watered in mid-summer. If cedars are on the edge of a lawn that is watered, it's easy to water them.

When I became settled in Bellingham, I put a conventional concrete 'birdbath' on a pedestal in my backyard. Here is what a raccoon taught me. Every night it knocked the birdbath onto the ground while trying to reach the water. Tired of putting the birdbath on the pedestal every morning, I left it on the ground. With the bath on the ground, many more birds used the birdbath than before. I have a lot of respect for birdbrains. Apparently birds know that puddles of water occur on the ground, not pedestals, but some people either don't know that or are more interested in decorating their lawn than what is best for birds.

When winter came, and in those days winters were much colder than recently, it was difficult to remove the ice from the concrete birdbath. I replaced it with a large metal pan intended as s saucer for a large flowerpot. I placed it near the feeding stations where there would be a sanctuary from hawks. When the bird water froze solid I turned the pan over and poured some hot water on the bottom to loosen the ice. Then I filled the pan with hot water. Birds appear to be desperate for water when all natural water sources are frozen. They will frequent warm water if you make it available.

If you wish to learn how to make pure suet or how to build a sunflower feeder that will not be dominated by house sparrows or house finches, write to: Birds, 3007 Plymouth Drive, Bellingham, WA 98225. §

The contributions of Tim Wahl and Marie Hitchman to this article are much appreciated.