Sure, it’s easy to buy birdseed at the store, but there’s an even easier way to attract birds. In nature, birds eat more than seed; they eat insects, nuts, and fruit. By planting the right trees and shrubs, you can provide birds with months of food, and enjoy watching them in your yard.

Start by using native plants. Plants and animals evolve together in a given area, so native plants play host to a wide range of insects, birds, and other wildlife. If you fill your yard with plants native to Asia, Europe, and other areas, these creatures may not be able to find anything they can eat. A ready supply of insects is particularly important, because nearly all birds need insects to feed their young.

By planting a variety of native trees and shrubs you can provide a year-round food source for birds. Choose plants that bloom and fruit at different times to help ensure that food is always available. If there are gaps, you can supplement with commercial birdseed.

Here are some good choices:
Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) is a small shade-tolerant tree that provides food for at least 19 species of birds, including hairy woodpeckers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, red-eyed vireos, and scarlet tanagers. This is a great choice for a small yard or woodland edge.

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) is a large native tree that produces abundant fruit that is food for at least 47 species of birds, including northern flickers, red-headed woodpeckers, northern mockingbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and white-throated sparrows.

White Oak (Quercus alba) is a large native tree that produces acorns that are an important food for mammals as well as birds, including flickers, red-headed woodpeckers, and blue jays. It is also a top insect host, making it doubly valuable to birds. If you’ve got the room, plant this.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is a small native tree that produces nutritious fruit that is eaten by 36 species of birds, including 6 species of thrush, northern flickers, pileated woodpeckers, summer tanagers, evening grosbeaks, and pine grosbeaks. Look for new disease-resistant varieties.

Viburnums (Viburnum dentatum, Viburnum trilobum, Viburnum lentago, and others) are shrubs that attract many species of birds, including eastern bluebirds, northern flickers, gray catbirds, cedar waxwings, and American robins. There are a wide variety of Viburnums, so choose one you like, just make sure it’s a native.

Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is a large shrub that attracts 30 species of birds including: American robins, eastern bluebirds, scarlet tanagers, eastern and spotted towhees, gray catbirds, northern mockingbirds, brown thrashers, and northern cardinals. Eat a few blueberries yourself and then let the birds put on a show.

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is a large evergreen tree that attracts many birds including cedar waxwings, northern mockingbirds, brown thrashers, gray catbirds, American robins, mourning doves, purple finches, common crows, northern flickers, downy woodpeckers, evening grosbeaks, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, and eastern bluebirds.

Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) is a deciduous holly with gorgeous red berries that attract American robins, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings, gray catbirds, brown thrashers, and northern mockingbirds.

Staghorn Sumac(Rhus typhina, Rhus aromatica, Rhus glabra, Rhus glabra)attracts

American robins, eastern bluebirds, thrushes, gray catbirds, cardinals, chickadees, wild turkeys, pileated woodpeckers, and others (more than 95 species have been recorded).

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)is a climbing vine that produces fruit eaten by northern mockingbirds, American robins, eastern bluebirds, thrashers, warblers, plus 35 other species. This vine can be aggressive, but puts on a tremendous show of fall color. Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is a favorite of thrushes and at least 13 other bird species. This underutilized native shrub will take shade as well as sun and is deer resistant, as well as being the host for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.American Elder (Sambucus canadensis) is a deciduous shrub that produces elderberries, which are eaten by at least 33 species of birds. It is a good choice for providing late-summer food and nesting cover in moist areas.

Sassafras(Sassafras albidum)is a native tree that attracts at least 22 species of birds, including pileated woodpeckers, eastern bluebirds, northern mockingbirds, eastern kingbirds, gray catbirds, thrashers, and flickers.

For more information, contact the Audubon Society, which is headquartered right here in Pennsylvania: http://www.audubon.org.

Have a gardening question? Ask a Master Gardener! Contact Penn State Master Gardeners of Chester County at 610-696-3500 or chestermg@psu.edu. Please visit Chester County Master Gardeners on Facebook!

• Nancy Sakaduski is the Chester County Master Gardener Coordinator. Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who educate the public on gardening and horticultural issues. In Chester County, they operate through the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in West Chester. Nancy lives in Pennsbury Township. She can be reached at nds13@psu.edu.