Landscaping for Wildlife: Food

As wild areas are lost to development, wildlife depends more and more on homeowners providing food for them. If you want to attract all kinds of wildlife to your yard, from birds and butterflies to squirrels, rabbits, amphibians, and even deer, the number one thing you should do is provide food. Feed them, and they will come!

This article will focus on providing food for birds and butterflies, since those are the two main types of wildlife that homeowners want to see in their yards. Animals like squirrels, bunnies, and deer will show up inevitably. There are ways to deal with these animals, and I will cover those in later articles. But for now, we're focusing on birds and butterflies.

Planting Food for Wildlife

When possible, try to choose native plants for your landscape for wildlife. Natives are best because the wildlife in our area have grown and evolved with the plants that are from here, and so naturally will be attracted to those first. However, lots of non-natives are great for wildlife, so I've included both natives and non-natives in the table below. The table is arranged by plant type. It is fun to look through the list and see which plants you already have, and what they attract. That will give you a start on developing a landscape that will attract the birds and butterflies you are most interested in. Let's say you have a Birch tree already, and you see in the table that it attracts cardinals, which are your favorite birds. So, you have a start. Now, go through the table and see which other plants provide food for cardinals. You will see that Alders, Ashes, Eastern Red Cedars, Hemlocks, Maples, Mulberries, Spruces, Sunflowers, and Viburnums all also provide food for your beloved cardinals, and several other birds as well. Now you have a list to take with you to the nursery!

Plant Plant Type Animals It Feeds
Alder Deciduous Tree Cardinals
Apple Deciduous Fruit Tree Blue Jays, Finches, Woodpeckers
Ash Deciduous Tree Cardinals
Barberry Deciduous Shrub Catbirds, Woodpeckers
Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) Evergreen Shrub Catbirds, Chickadees, Finches, Woodpeckers
Bee Balm (red) Perennial Hummingbirds
Birch Deciduous Tree Cardinals, Chickadees, Finches, Juncos, Sparrows, Titmice
Blazingstar Perennial Monarch butterflies
Butterfly Bush Perennial Hummingbirds, Cabbage White butterflies, Monarch butterflies
Columbine Perennial Hummingbirds
Coral Bells Perennial Hummingbirds
Corn Vegetable Blue Jays, Woodpeckers
Cosmos (Sensation Series) Annual Finches, Juncos, Mourning Doves, Sparrows, Monarch butterflies
Currant Deciduous Shrub Catbirds, Woodpeckers
Dill Herb Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars
Douglas Fir Evergreen Tree Blue Jays, Nuthatches
Eastern Red Cedar Evergreen Tree Cardinals, Juncos, Mourning Doves, Robins, Sparrows
Elderberry Deciduous Shrub Robins
Gray Dogwood Deciduous Shrub Finches, Robins, Sparrows
Hawthorn Deciduous Tree Cedar Waxwings, Robins
Hemlock Evergreen Tree Cardinals, Chickadees, Finches, Nuthatches, Titmice
Lilac Deciduous Shrub Hummingbirds
Maple Deciduous Tree Blue Jays, Cardinals, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers
Milkweed Perennial Hummingbirds, Black Swallowtail butterflies, Monarch butterfly caterpillars, Monarch butterflies
Mulberry Deciduous Tree Blue Jays, Cardinals, Finches, Robins, Titmice
Nasturtium Annual Hummingbirds, Cabbage White butterfly caterpillars
Oak Deciduous Tree Blue Jays, Chickadees, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Titmice, Woodpeckers
Parsley Herb Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars
Pine Evergreen Tree Blue Jays, Chickadees, Finches, Nuthatches
Purple Coneflower Perennial Finches, Juncos, Mourning Doves, Sparrows, Black Swallowtail butterflies, Monarch butterflies
Queen Anne's Lace Annual (Often considered a weed) Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars
Redbud (Cercis canadensis) Deciduous Tree Chickadees, Titmice, Woodpeckers
Red Twig Dogwood Deciduous Shrub Chickadees, Robins
Scarlet Runner Bean Vine Annual Vine Hummingbirds
Scarlet Sage Annual Hummingbirds
Serviceberry Deciduous Shrub Cedar Waxwings, Robins
Spruce Evergreen Tree Cardinals, Chickadees, Finches, Sparrows, Titmice
Sumac Deciduous Shrub Robins
Sunflower Annual Blue Jays, Cardinals, Chickadees, Finches, Juncos, Nuthatches, Sparrows, Woodpeckers
Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) Annual Cabbage White butterflies, Monarch butterflies
Viburnum Deciduous Shrub Blue Jays, Cardinals, Cedar Waxwings, Chickadees, Robins
Virginia Creeper Deciduous Vine Robins, Woodpeckers
Weigela Deciduous Shrub Hummingbirds
Zinnia Annual Finches, Hummingbirds, Juncos, Mourning Doves, Sparrows, Black Swallowtail butterflies, Monarch butterflies

Supplemental Feeding

Of course, providing supplemental food for your birds is also a lot of fun. Again, the foods you use, as well as the types of feeders, will determine which birds you will attract. The table below sorted by bird species.

One of the things you will notice is that there are many, many different types of feeders available, and they are by no means general purpose. If you don't have any particular birds in mind, and you just want whatever bird will come, you can always set up a hopper or tube feeder with a general wild bird mix in it. Birds will come! You will probably get lots of sparrows and finches, along with the occasional cardinal. Pigeons and mourning doves will hang out under the feeder and eat what the other birds drop. If your bird-attracting goals are more focused, however, you will want to learn about the different kinds of feeders.

Feeders

Platform Feeder: This is what it sounds like-a flat platform that you set food on. Sometimes they come with a roof, sometimes not. Often the easiest thing to do is make one yourself by building a box and stapling window screening to the bottom of it. Doing that will allow rainwater to go through, but keep the food in the feeder. Or, a large plant saucer can serve as a platform feeder. The key is wide, shallow, and sturdy.

Hopper Feeder: These are the feeders that usually look like little houses, or sometimes they are shaped like gazebos. They are usually made of wood or plastic. You open the top, pour the seed in, and birds can feed from the perches or ledges around the hopper.

Tube Feeder: These are the long, usually plastic tubes with a series of holes for the birds to eat from. They have a perch beneath each hole for the birds to sit on while they eat. If you are intent on attracting American Goldfinches, there are special tube feeders for gold finches that only they are able to eat from. They are worth checking out, as goldfinches are easily bullied from typical tube feeders.

Globe Feeder: These are round feeders that have holes toward the bottom of the feeder, and no perches near the holes. These are specialty feeders for birds that cling upside down to eat.

Suet Feeder: These are wire cages that you can put suet cakes into. You can hang then from a tree or fence. Sometimes hopper feeders are available with suet feeders built onto the sides of them.

Nectar Feeders: These are the feeders we use to attract hummingbirds. They are usually plastic, but sometimes glass, and often have some red adornment on them to capture the attention of hummers.

Bird Type of Feeder Favorite Foods
Blue Jays Hopper Feeder, Suet Feeder Peanuts, sunflower seeds, cracked corn, suet
Cardinals Hopper Feeder, Platform Feeder Sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, cracked corn, millet, fruit
Catbirds Platform Feeder, Suet Feeder Chopped fruit, peanuts, raisins, sunflower hearts, suet
Cedar Waxwing Platform Feeder Berries, chopped fruit, raisins
Chickadees Globe Feeder, Tube Feeder, Suet Feeder Peanuts, sunflower seeds, suet
Finches Globe Feeder, Tube Feeder, Suet Feeder Thistle, sunflower seeds, millet, peanut kernels, suet
Hummingbirds Nectar Feeder Nectar Solution: Bring 4 parts water and 1 part sugar together to a boil. Let cool, then fill feeders. Replace nectar every 2 - 3 days. Refrigerate extra for up to one week.
Juncos Hopper Feeder Millet, sunflower seeds, cracked corn, peanuts
Mourning Doves Platform Feeder Millet, cracked corn, milo, thistle, sunflower seeds
Nuthatches Globe Feeder, Suet Feeder Sunflower seeds, peanuts, suet
Robins Platform Feeder, Suet Feeder Suet, berries, chopped fruit, raisins, nuts, sunflower hearts
Sparrows Platform Feeder, Hopper Feeder, Tube Feeder Millet, sunflower seeds, cracked corn
Titmice Globe Feeder, Tube Feeder, Suet Feeder Peanuts, sunflower seeds, suet
Woodpeckers Globe Feeders, Suet Feeders Suet, sunflower seeds, cracked corn, peanuts

Placing Your Feeders

There are two considerations when placing your feeders. First, where is the safest place for the birds? Placing a low platform feeder near a hedge might be attractive, but cats could easily sneak up on the birds feeding there. A good idea is to place feeders either in an open space so the birds can see all around them, or to place them close to a tree so they can fly for cover if a predator attacks. The second consideration is choosing a spot that you can see easily. All the fun of having a feeder is watching the birds that visit it. So be sure that your feeder is in view from your windows, or your deck or patio.

Caring for your Feeders

The most important thing is to keep your feeders clean, so that all of the birds you've worked so hard to attract wont' get sick. Feeders should be cleaned once a week in the summer (when food can go rancid more quickly) and every two weeks or so in winter. Cleaning feeders is easy.

  1. Throw all old food and hulls into the garbage.
  2. Scrape out any stubborn seed or hulls with an old screwdriver or spoon.
  3. Use a damp sponge to wipe out any residue.
  4. For perches, ledges, and any holes the birds might eat from, use a solution of one part bleach and nine parts water, and clean and rinse thoroughly.
  5. Let the feeder air dry thoroughly before putting fresh seed in.

One final thing about supplemental feeding. Some cities have absolutely ridiculous laws about feeding animals. In some areas, having a bird or squirrel feeder will get you a fine. If you live in one of these communities, first of all, I'd consider starting a movement to get the laws changed, but if you can't do that then you'll have to be satisfied with feeding birds with your plantings. Pay particular attention to the plants in the table above, and plant those that have the largest list of birds attracted to it. They can fine you for a feeder, but in most cases they can't do a thing about the pine tree you decide to plant!

So, there it is: all you need to know to get started attracting birds and butterflies to your yard. Have fun, and keep your eye out for the next part of the series, about providing water in your Landscape for Wildlife. ITGO