UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension

Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578

Phone: (863) 763-6469

E- mail: indianco@ufl.edu  

August 8, 2006

Feature Article - for immediate release

Ed Ayen, Florida Yards & Neighborhood

Landscaping with Native Plants to Attract Birds 

This is another in a series of articles written about the new area program called Florida Yards & Neighborhoods. 

Are you spending a lot of money on birdseed?  Are the squirrels eating more than the birds?  Maybe it is time to think about replacing some of that hard to care for lawn with native plants that provide food and shelter for birds year after year.  

Like all wildlife, birds need food, cover and water.  Food should consist of fruits, seeds and insects.  Birds need access to cover for nesting and shelter from weather and predators.  They also need a source of water for drinking and bathing; moving water is very attractive to birds. 

The Mockingbird is Florida's state bird.  It  feeds on both fruit and insects.  Photo: George Jameson

Cardinals are songbirds that eat both seed and fruit, but occasionally consume insects. Photo: Fred Fallon

Hummingbirds are attracted to plants with long tubular flowers. Photo from: UF/IFAS Brevard Co. Extension Service

Keep in mind that some of the south Florida songbirds are migratory and require food and cover only during the fall, winter and spring months. You may want to select plants that flower during the spring migrations and attract insects for the insect eating birds; or select a variety of plants which offer a consistent supply of food over an extended period of time.  Try placing plants in groupings to imitate natural habitats and provide a variety of plant heights and densities within these groupings. 

Fruit eating birds such as the Cedar Waxwing and the Gray Catbird are attracted to the Marlberry (Ardisia escoalloniodes).  This Florida native shrub grows to a height of 15 feet and has fragrant white flowers all year with round purple fruit in fall and winter.  Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana ) is another shrub well liked by fruit eater such as Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Catbirds and Thrashers.  Beautyberry can grow to 6 feet and has light purple flowers from spring to fall and small purplish fruit consumed by birds in late winter.  

A native fruit tree is the Red Mulberry (Morus rubra).   These same fruit eating birds are also attracted to the Laurel Oak (Quercus laurifolia) and Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) trees.  The Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto), the Florida state tree, has a fruit that is well liked by Blackbirds, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds and Robins.  Hummingbirds, a nectar bird, like Firebush (Hamelia patens) shrubs which has orange/red flowers year around.  Another good shrub for Hummingbirds, Orioles and Buntings is the Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana); it grows to about 5 foot and has white flowers in the summer. 

For the grain loving birds such as Cardinals, Indigo Buntings and House Finches you will still want a bird feeder.  We have a platform feeder and a regular hanging type feeder in our yard and stock them with hulled sunflower seeds to minimize the mess on the ground.  The majority of birds feeding now are Cardinals, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Scrub Jays and White-winged Doves. 

For more information on landscaping to attract birds stop by the Extension service office in your county.  The Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program is being implemented through your local county Extension Service and is partially funded from Clean Water Act Section 319 funding from the U. S. EPA through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.  More information is available on  the Okeechobee web page,  http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on Florida Friendly Yards, please email us at indianco@ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners  on Tuesday afternoons.  

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References

Attracting  Hummingbirds. [FS 6102 HORT].  Cocoa: UF/IFAS Brevard Co. Extension Service, undated.    http://brevard.ifas.ufl.edu/Forms%20and%20Publications/PDF/Attracting%20Hummingbirds.pdf 

Broschat, Timothy K. and Verkade, Stephen D.  Landscaping to Attract Birds in South Florida [ENH-78]  Gainesville: UF/IFAS Extension Service, 06/1997.  

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2003, January 6. Florida's breeding bird atlas: A collaborative study of Florida's birdlife. http://www.myfwc.com/bba/  (Date accessed 8/11/2006).

Hostetler, Mark.  A Bird's-Eye View: How Birds Select Habitat [WEC 163]. Gainesville: UF/IFAS Florida Cooperative Extension Service, April, 2009.  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw174 

Hostetler, Mark et.al. Birds/Living Green In: SolutionsForYourLife.com website.  Gainesville: UF/IFAS, 2006. http://livinggreen.ifas.ufl.edu/wildlife/birds.html 

Hostetler, Mark et.al.  Landscaping Backyards for Wildlife: Top Ten Tips for Success [Cir 1429].  Gainesville: UF/IFAS Florida Cooperative Extension Service, April, 2009. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw175 

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