Cardinal on holly bush.
Plant trees that provide food and habitat for our feathered friends
Plant trees and shrubs that provide food and habitat for our feathered friends! You’ll be rewarded with their birdsong, color, and beauty. To attract a wide range of birds from cardinals to chickadees, see our chart which lists plants with the berries and food they feast on, but also shows options for shelter.
Some of our favorite trees and shrubs from the chart below include the following:
- Dogwoods are an excellent choice for birds. The ornamental flowering tree offers berries in the fall as well as nesting sites, attracting bluebirds, cardinals, catbirds, grosbeaks, robins, and thrushes. The red osier dogwood and gray dogwood are hardy deciduous shrubs that offer fruit with high fat content, which provides important food for migrating songbirds in the fall. They also act as nest sites and cover for the same birds, as well as vireos, kingbirds, juncos, warblers, and grouse.
- Oaks are another group of trees that attract many birds. We especially recommend the White Oak, a large tree which tends to produce an abundance of acorns. This tree attracts woodpeckers, jays, grouse, and wood ducks, in addition to providing nesting and cover for many birds.
- The crabapple is one of our favorite medium-size trees, providing spring blossoms for insects, followed by fruit and seeds for birds. Choose a tree with smaller fruits which are easier for birds to swallow. The crabapple attracts robins, bluebirds, thrushes, cardinals, waxwings, finches, and many other birds. It also provides nest sites and cover.
- Eastern red cedar is a tall, cone-shaped tree that produces fleshy, berry-like cones on the female trees. These are highly attractive to waxwings and other birds, and also provide nest sites and cover.
- Spruces are very tall evergreen trees with seed-bearing cones that attract warblers in the spring as the birds search for insects. Crossbills and seed-eaters are attracted to spruces in fall and winter, when they also provide nesting and cover.
- Sumac is a wonderful shrub with red fall leaves and clusters of red fruits which attract many birds, including bluebirds, thrushes, catbirds, cardinals, chickadees, robins, woodpeckers, and others.
- Holly is a hardy deciduous shrub with red berries that are highly valued by winter birds. Only the female plants have berries; consider planting several females and one male holly to attract robins, bluebirds, waxwings, and others.
Click to enlarge below chart (PDF)
Read Next
Readers have suggested several other trees and shrubs which birds find attractive, including: serviceberries, mulberries, northern bayberry, and nannyberry.
Most of these trees and shrubs are common across North America, but they may not work for every region. We encourage you to plant native shrubs and trees because they’ll thrive where you live and will also provide food for native insects and birds. In areas with non-native trees, insects decline, then birds decline, resulting in entire ecosystem under strain.
See more about creating a bird-friendly yard for our feathered friends.
Catherine Boeckmann
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mocking birds and cat birds like it. Robins too
I see you mention ivy in your article. Ivy (Hedera helix) is a terrible invasive in much of the country. It matures once it climbs to a certain height, producing fruit that the birds eat and spread to the woods, where it kills trees. Native plants are always preferred over alien plants. Please remove mention of it from your article.
This year my husband and I put in the first garden on this property in 20 years. We had a variety of beans, corn, potatoes, onions, garlic, squash, etc. I have always had food out for the birds, but this year I saw an explosion in the wildlife! There young birds would try to land on the corn tops and we could see them sliding down the leaves. When we picked the beans I would find little feathers stuck to the leaves. It makes me really look forward to next year's garden.
I didn't see the "Robin" in your chart of birds and where they like to find food and shelter????
American robins, members of the thrush family, like earthworms, grubs, and other insects, and some snails. They’ll also eat fruit/berries. Fruit from trees, shrubs, and vines such as mulberries, serviceberries, elderberry, flowering dogwood, crabapples, junipers, sumac, holly, cherry, grape, viburnums, spicebush, and others will attract them. They’ll also come to both platform and ground feeders. They typically nest in trees, although depending on the area of the country, they might build nests on the ground, thickets, in the eaves of homes, etc. When foraging, they like to keep near cover, such as a tree or shrub. Hope this helps!
Red grapes are a big favourite for robins
Thank for the info I love these little creatures!
Thank you for any information on hummingbirds; want to see more of those beautifol creatures
Try hanging Fuscia plants in partially shaded areas around your house. Hummingbirds love them!
The chart would help if it were also by state. THANKS!
