FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Re: Shrubs for Birds

["Craig Tufts" <TUFTS@xxxxxxx>]

Dave:

The difficult part of your question is figuring out how small you might
want those shrubs to be.  Here is a list of plants from moderately small
to large shrubs that will provide good seasonal to year 'round cover as
well as some foods-- fruit, insects-- for other species of birds. They
are all native to your area and should be available, with some
searching,  at a large garden center or nursery or through mail order. 

Craig Tufts

Winterberry holly, Ilex verticillata or I. decidua; deciduous with red
fruit; may be thicket forming. Generally upright in form. Can be planted
fairly close together for quicker cover. Small to moderate size

Arrowwood viburnum, Viburnum dentatum; deciduous with purple/black
fruit in Aug and September. Moderate to large, vase-shaped plant. 

Blackhaw and possumhaw viburnums, V. prunifolium and V. nudum, are both
large upright but spreading deciduous shrubs with large dark fruit that
provide excellent roosting and nesting cover. 

Inkberry holly, Ilex glabra, is easy to find in its many horticultural
cultivars. It is a small to moderate sized evergreen that remains
densely branched if given good sun light. Female plants may bear the
black berries that some birds will eat; most available cultivars seem to
be male. 

Wax myrtle and southern bayberry, Myrica/Morella cerifera and M.
carolinensis  are moderate to large evergreen shrubs which provide cover
and food.

Swamp and Virginia rose, Rosa palustris and R. virginiana; Swamp rose
for wet spots and Virginia rose if you want a larger thorny plant for
dryer areas. These two provide some of the cover value of multiflora
without the invasiveness and are more attractive if less floriferous
when blooming. The Virginia rose, or what we purchased as this plant,
spreads fairly rapidly from runners. 



>>> Dave Hewitt <dhewitt@xxxxxxxx> 02/02/04 05:55PM >>>
I realize this may be a bit off subject for this list, but quick
searching 
on the web resulted in more information/confusion than answers.

I am looking for recommendations on 1-3 types of small native
shrubs/bushes 
to plant in a backyard designed around a number of bird feeders. The 
primary goal is to provide cover for smaller birds like sparrows,
juncos, 
cardinals, etc. Anyone with a green thumb have any good ideas?

Dave Hewitt
Williamsburg, James City County, VA

---------------------------------------------
Dave Hewitt
Fisheries Science/Crustacean Ecology
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
College of William and Mary
P.O. Box 1346
Gloucester Point, VA  23062
804.684.7643
dhewitt@xxxxxxxx 

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