Planting to provide habitat for the wild birds around your home will put you in the “catbird seat” watching the drama of nature play out:  a courting rain crow (yellow-billed cuckoo) feeds a tent caterpillar to his mate, hummingbirds harvest nectar from a firecracker vine on your deck rail, cardinals and titmice play in the mist of a lawn sprinkler until they are soaked and flit to a nearby perch to dry; and a robin picks clay from a pot in your garden pool and hustles up to a large pine to line the bottom of his nest.

First Inventory what your yard or on your property now has in plants, water sources, trees, snags, bird houses, feeders and such, and consider the value of each to wild birds.  Convert the list into a map of your property, and then start thinking about the things that are missing and could be added.  Try to copy nature and not your neighbors.  Look for natural plant combinations like goldenrod and purple asters.

When deciding what wild plants are appropriate, emphasize the use of locally native plants and compare your land with a nearby natural site.  You may already have much of what birds need just growing wild.  Plan for all season bird use as well as visual show.  Resident wild plants are better suited than most garden species and resist a majority of local insect pests and plant diseases.

Fall is best for planting plants or seeds since South Carolina's good rains usually come in early winter, and many wildflower seeds need a cold period to break their dormancy.  Our drought-prone springs and summers are a poor time for getting wildflowers started unless you can regularly water..  Whenever you plant them, plants and seeds will need water early on to get established.  Container-growing plants may be planted at any time but summer’s heat and a dry spring will demand intensive care in getting plants established.

A simple five-point method works for planting. Remember that nursery-grown plants always work better than seeds.  List potential sites for planting.  Inventory each site for benefits such as desirable plants already growing there and drawbacks like erosion, rocks, and pest plants.  Select species that fit the site in terms of size, sun exposure, moisture and drainage, giving preference to natives that should grow there naturally.   Prepare the site to enhance soil conditions and plant it properly.  And finally, provide for aftercare, taking responsibility for thinning, pruning and weeding  in years to come.
 
When selecting a location for trees, shrubs and tall-growing perennials, in particular, consider the ultimate scale, how the mature plant will look with other plants, structures, roads and walks.  Having the plants is better than bird feeders if you’ve got the room.  Remember that hardy perennials and self-seeding annuals can be just as reliable as trees and shrubs.

Food sources for birds can include direct offerings like seeds, fruits, berries, and nectar-bearing flowers or  indirect means like plants that attract or harbor insects that birds feed on.  Brush piles and decaying logs and snags will provide grubs and dormant insects for winter feeding.

Flowering plants appease the human eye craving beauty while meeting wild creatures’ needs.  A patch of yellow Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) goes into motion when hummingbirds make their summer rounds.  Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) provides one of the earliest nectar sources, just before the orange Oconee Azalea (Rhododendron flammeum).  Two hummingbird targets needing containment are high-climbing Cross Vine (Bignonia capreolata) an early source of food in spring and Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) which blooms summer into autumn.   Lantana (Lantana camara) provides nectar for hummingbirds and berries for cardinals and many others.  The Wild Azaleas (Rhododendron periclymeniodes, calendulaceum and others) offer a multicolor stage of pink, red, orange, white and yellow where  hummers  perform.

Some effective cultivated attractors are Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus), Firecracker Vine (Manettia cordifolia), Cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit), Butterfly Bush (Buddelia davidii), Larkspur, Petunia, Red Salvia, Nasturtium, Glossy Abelia (Abelia grandiflora), and Four-O-Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa).

These wild cousins are also good: Cherokee Bean (Erythrina herbacea), Southern Beardtongue (Penstemon australis), Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), Wild Bergamont (Monarda fistulosa), Spotted Horsemint (Monarda punctata), Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora), Canna Lily (Canna indica and flaccida), Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), Turks Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus and drummondii), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa, etc.), Summer Phloxes (Phlox paniculata and carolina), Morning glories (Ipomoea tricolor, coccinea, etc.), Hibiscus (Hibiscus palustris, etc.), Carolina Jessamine ( Gelsemium sempervirens), and Swamp Jessamine (Gelsemium rankinii).

Trees are a larger scale come-hither for wild birds as they provide nesting sites, nesting material, roosting perches ,and food.  Female native persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) bear succulent orange fruit feasted upon each fall by mockingbirds, blue jays, robins, catbirds, bluebirds, pileated woodpeckers and cedar waxwings.  Sparkleberry or winter blueberry (Vaccinium arboreum) is another full service bird stop as these drought-hardy bonsai-like trees are designed for nesting and have black berries that cling from fall to spring.

Pines like loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf and spruce produce seeds for chickadees, evening grosbeaks, pine siskins and other birds as well as provide the high shade needed for  redbuds and dogwoods.  Hollies provide the best source of food, cover and nesting sites of perhaps any plant family with choices ranging from American Holly cultivars (Ilex opaca), to deciduous winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and Japanese selections like Burford Holly (Ilex cornuta).  You must have male and female plants close by for good berry set.

Dogwoods (Cornus florida) the typical large flowered species with white, pink or red blossoms, actually bracts rather than petals, bearing red berries and the shrubby yellow-flowered dogwoods with white or black berries.  Crab apples (Malus species) affording pink, red or white clusters of bloom, good cover, nesting and birds will eat buds, flowers, fruit and seeds.

Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera) is great for ruby-crowned kinglets, towhee, catbird, thrasher, bluebird, yellow-rumped warbler and surprisingly it is a “supermarket” for tree swallows in winter when flying insects are in short supply.  Shadbush or service berries (Amelanchier arborea, laevis, etc.) shrubs or trees showy white in spring and quickly disappearing reddish-black fruit.  Southern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana and silicicola) has it all, an  attractive vase shape, evergreen cover, nesting sites and winter fruit

Viburnums with their white flat-headed clusters of scented white flowers are followed by sumptuous blue berries with one species called wild Raisin (Viburnum nudum). Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is popular with hummingbirds as it blooms and orioles seeking nectar.  Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a favorite of goldfinches, chickadees, pine siskins and titmice when tiny seeds sprinkle from gun balls like pepper shakers. Black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) thrushes, robins, blue birds

Other wild trees that enhance bird habitat are:  Redbud (Cercis canadensis), Southern Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum floridanum), Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Evergreen Cherry Laurel (Prunus caroliniana), Sweet Bay (Magnolia virginica), Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Umbrella Magnolia (Magnolia tripetela), Native Hawthorn (Crataegus species), Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium), Spruce Pine (Pinus glabra), Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris), Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), Red Mulberry (Morus rubra), Sugarberry  (Celtis laevigata), Oaks (Quercus all species) and Hickories (Carya all species).

Shrubs afford lower, denser growth than most trees, ideal for nesting, and many produce succulent food.  The edible elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) which needs containment is also a favorite all woodpeckers, thrushes, totaling more than 30 bird species.  Hercules Club or Devil’s Walking Stick (Aralia spinosa) forms thickets with tropical-looking leaves and showy panicled flower heads that are a late season fruit factory of black, red-stemmed berries.

Wild Strawberry Bush or wahoo (Euonymus americana) has been called “deer ice cream” but also offers a colorful fall feeding station for fox sparrows and wood thrushes.  American Beautyberry or French Mulberry (Callicarpa americana) bears bright purple or white fruits well into winter for cardinals, thrushes, mockingbirds and towhees, locally joree.  Invasive Gumi (Elaeagnus multiflora) and Russian Olive (Elaeagnus pungens) both provide fruit, cover and nesting sites but require space control. )

Some bird-attracting shrubs are:  Winterberry Holly (decidua or verticillata), Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus), Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), Common fig (Ficus carica), Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinum hybrids), Wild Plum (Prunus americana), Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor), Dwarf Wax Myrtle (Myrica pumila), Dwarf Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Mapleleaf Vibunum (Viburnum acerfolium), Mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum), Bush Clover (lespedeza species), Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei), Flame Bamboo (Nandina domestica), and  Fire Thorn (Pyracantha cultivars).

Goldfinches and other seed eaters love the native sunflowers like Cucumberleaf Sunflower (Helianthus debilis), Maximillian Sunflower (Helianthus maximilliani) and Resinous Sunflower (Helianthus resinosus), as well as the persistent seed heads of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Coreopsis (Coreopsis major and others), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta, etc) and ornamental grasses.

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) climbs trees, clambers over shrubs and across the ground offering scarlet fall color, and its blue berries are an important food source fall through winter.  Vines and ground covers of special value to birds include:  Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), Wild Grapes (Vitis rotundifolia), Carolina Snailseed (Cocculus carolinus), Evergreen Smilax (Smilax smallii), Red-berried Smilax (Smilax walteri), and Dwarf Smilax (Smilax pumila),

When planting don’t forget the birds’ need for water sources like a mist fountain, garden pool or bird bath and the need for supplemental winter feeding.  Maintain bird houses and sources of nesting materials.  Try growing some non-invasive thistles for summer nesting goldfinches or put up a wire basket lined with dryer lint yarn and string.  Make a brush pile of branches, starting with thicker pieces on the bottom covered with smaller diameter branches and on top some pine or juniper boughs.  The “unsightly” tent caterpillars  found on black cherry trees are good for rain crows, or yellow-billed cuckoos that make those afternoon clucks and coos.  Pokeberry (Phytolacca americana) is a weedy species but a choice of many birds.

Most of this information will apply to yards and larger rural lots, but it can also benefit school grounds, golf course, playgrounds, industrial sites and other facilities.  When planting for the birds you, as well as the birds and other creatures will enjoy your home more.

As you observe the feathered players on nature’s stage, be ever vigilant for you will be surprised by a candid moment perhaps never recorded.  A cinnamon firm is shaken vigorously by an unseen force, when suddenly a tiny ruby-throat rockets away with a beak-full of russet fibers.  They’re building a nest in my yard!