Planting a Bird Sanctuary

By Cathy Frank
 - Master Gardener / Master Wildlife Conservationist

When I sit at my picture window and view all the birds doing acrobatics at my feeder, it is the highlight of my day. I am reminded that it is time to be getting our feeders prepared for our returning friends. Sure, the feeders help bring these feathered friends closer to my home for enjoyment, but I realize that it is actually what I have planted in my yard that gets the credit for my birding success.

To attract a good number of area birds to your backyard, it's important to provide shelter from the elements, protection from natural predators, water and a natural food source. The best part is when you plant for the birds, you'll also benefit. The result is a beautifully landscaped yard you can enjoy year round.

Backyards that have a variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, grounds covers, and grasses to attract birds are sure to be winners. Be sure to use a mix of deciduous (lose their leaves in the winter), and evergreen (stay green all year round) plants. The evergreens serve as a good source of nesting and protection from the cold winter winds.

Trees with berries that hang on bare branches throughout the long winters are especially important to many birds. They can actually be life-savers. Low-growing plants and horizontal shrub groupings are also an important layer to a "birdscaped"¹ yard. They create thickets that protect the birds and provide food. Ground covers and grasses provide places to hide and nest for certain varieties of birds. Their seeds and fruit are also a good food source. Fruiting vines that create a tangle can be suitable for nesting in a short time. The fruits are relished by the birds.

The use of native plants in our "birdscaped" backyard is important. Plants are the foundation for all life. They produce oxygen and filter the air we breathe. They provide all living species with food and shelter. As part of a healthy ecosystem, plants protect water quality by controlling soil erosion and moderating floods and drought.

Native plants are an integral part of all healthy ecosystems. Each species contributes to a balanced system developed over millions of years, and interacts to keep the ecosystem functioning. Shrubs produce berries; birds feed on the berries; seeds from the berries are deposited by the birds, thus dispersing the shrubs. Plants drop their leaves, providing organic matter for the earthworms to eat; the earthworms churn up and aerate the soil, which improves plant growth. The intricacy of ecosystems-each with an enormous diversity of plants, animals, insects, bacteria, soil, air, and water-boggles the mind. There is no way to know beforehand how the loss of even one species will affect an ecosystem, and subsequently the many other species, including human, that rely upon that ecosystem.

Florida has a great wealth of native plants for use in the average rural or urban home landscape. Native plants desirable for home use range from the spectacular southern magnolia to the miniature creeping vine of the partridge berry. They are equally practical and attractive for use in our landscape. The benefit of using a native species is that they are adapted to climate and soil conditions of a given area and usually have fewer problems, if placed in an environment similar to their native habitat.

The following is a suggested list of native plants that are great for "birdscaping" your backyard (Common Name, Scientific Name):

Grasses

Fakahatchee grass; Tripsacum spp., muhly grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris, broomsedge, Andropogon spp., Indian grass, Sorghastrum nutans

Groundcovers & Vines

Gopher apple, Licania michauxil; partridge berry, Mitchella repens; Carolina yellow-jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens; southern honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens; trumpet creeper,Campsis radicans; Virginia creeper, Partenocissus quinquefolia; Adams-needle (Beargrass) Yucca smallians; coontie, Zamia floridana; Eastern coralbean, Erythrina herbacea

Shrubs
American beautybush, Callcarpa americana; fetterbush, Lyonia lucida, gallberry, Ilex glabra; blueberry, Vaccinium spp.; Florida anise, Illicium floridanum; native azaleas (wild honeysuckle), Rhododendron spp.; scrub holly, Illex opaca arenicola (I. Cumulicola); southern wax myrtle, Myrica cerifera

Small Trees

Chickasaw plum, Prunus angustifolia; flowering dogwood, Cornus florida; fringe-tree, Chionanthus virginicus, redbud (Judas-tree), Cercis canadensis; sand-live oak, Quercus geminata.

Large Trees

American holly Ilex opaca; dahoon holly, Ilex cassine; live oak, Quercus virginiana; longleaf pine, Pinus palustris; red maple, Acer rubrum; southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora; cabbage palm, Sabal palmetto.

There are many, many more native plant species available for use in your home landscape. To learn more about it, read Native Florida Plants for Home Landscapes by Dr. Robert J. Black and David F. Hamilton, University of Florida, Environmental Horticulture Department.

¹ Ralston, Robert, Planting a Bird Sanctuary, Birds & Blooms

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