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Birds that visit our yard always come to our 20-ft tall lilac first. They don't find food in the lilac, but it is the highest bush and has a bushy, open growth style that makes it a good roost for checking for predators. The best plants for backyard birds provide a source of food, places to roost, protection from predators, and places to nest. Often birds prefer native plants to exotics. Depending on the birds that are local, birds will find some of the following plants welcome.

Hummingbird Friendly Plants

We have two types of hummingbirds at our home in Western Washington. Anna's hummingbirds stay year round and prefer ants in their diet. Rufous hummingbirds arrive in late February and are usual gone by early August. Plants most visited by both hummingbirds include honeysuckle, maple, lilac, forsythia, weigela, viburnum, buddleia, rhododendron, bleeding heart. They also love my annual hanging baskets especially petunias and fuscia.

Seedeater Friendly Herbs

Wrens, towhee, sparrows, pine siskins, juncos and other seed eating birds love any perennial that self-sows and for that reason I find them in my herbs quite often. My herb garden has catmint, mint, oregano, and thyme. Most of these plants flower attractively and produce numerous seeds. If you grow the mints, be sure to enclose them in a container that will keep the roots from spreading throughout your flower beds.

Berries for Robins, Starlings and Woodpeckers

Robins like the berries from cotoneaster, honeysuckle and viburnum as do the woodpeckers.

Redwood Cedar is Home to Hummingbirds, Warblers, Kinglets and more

Our neighbors each have one large redwood cedar that are 40-50 feet tall or more and about 30 feet wide. The bushy branches provide shelter and nesting for hummingbirds, warblers, and kinglets. I would cut down any other tree but never a redwood cedar whose growth is green and lush and quite dainty.

Pines for Seedeaters

Juncos nest in pines and you can find them in most any pine eating from the pine cones.

Bushy trellis roses and Clematis

Wrens love my climbing roses and clematis. I often find them amongst the leaves either in search of bugs, seeds or shelter, I'm not sure which.

Doug Fir and Maple

Flickers, pileated woodpeckers, and downy and hairy woodpeckers love our big leaf maple and douglas fir trees.

Ants for Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds need a source of ants and I've planted peonies to attract them but mostly ants like rotting wood and sources of sugar.

When planting to attract birds, be sure to provide busy areas for nesting and perching, flowering plants for tanagers and hummingbirds, self-sowing perennials and annuals for seed loving plants. Be sure to include trees since they are a good source of insects, sap, seeds and nesting.

Learn more about this author, Sheri Fresonke Harper.
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