Feeding Birds from the Winter Garden

The garden doesn't have to be dull and quiet during winter. In fact, it can be a source of entertainment and delight if you landscape with wildlife in mind. Several years ago, we intentionally planted plants to add value for birds and critters during the cold weather months when foraging becomes more challenging. Home gardens are more critical than ever in supporting these species.

American goldfinch

There are several ways to draw birds to the garden throughout the winter. Providing layers of vegetation offers a more complex structure that they appreciate. Birds forage in all layers of the landscape from the tree canopy to the understory, shrub and ground levels. Consider 

• adding native berry producing trees and shrubs that persist into winter to provide food for fructivores 
• planting trees that produce nuts such as oak and hickory feed the nut eaters
• not pruning back perennials until they break dormancy in spring, creates a seed buffet for granivores
• creating areas that mimic the forest floor allowing insectivores a place to forage  

Landscape tip: create a hedgerow that allows birds protection from predators and extreme weather conditions as well as foraging opportunities. 

Birds spend much of their day in search of food and present different foraging techniques depending on the species. Some birds scratch the ground to uncover insects, worms and grubs. Provide for these birds by leaving the leaves. Not only does this allow overwintering insects to complete their lifecycle, but also provides scratchers such as the Eastern towhee, and brown thrasher a food source.

Eastern Towhee 

Seed eating birds rely on plants with dried flowers where they can pluck seeds. Waiting until spring to cut back these dried plant stalks will provide an important food source.  

Northern Cardinal

Goldfinches often perch on plants in the Asteraceae family, where they balance gracefully and swing on stalks to reach the seed heads.  Provide sunflowers (Helianthus), asters (Symphyotrichum), coneflowers (Echinacea), and goldenrod (Solidago). 

To see goldfinches feeding on these plants during summer read here. 

Several species of woodpeckers reside in our trees. The yellow-bellied sapsuckers are winter visitors in our region and look for trees with high sugar content in their sap, such as red maples, hickories and sugar maples where they drill wells into the trunk to reach the sweet sap. This activity attracts insects, which provides protein but also attracts other insect eating birds. 

Sapsuckers usually chose already declining trees. 

Many insects enter a state of diapause or hibernation in winter and run off stored energy reserves in their bodies. They usually hide on inactive plant material, often burrowing into stems or hiding in tree stumps and under debris. Plants with hollow stems or those that are pith filled such as joe pye weed (Eupatorium), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), blazing star (Liatris sp.), wild bergamot (Mondarda fistulosa), culver's root (Veronicastrum virginicum) are ideal overwintering plants. Keeping a 'messy' garden [not cutting back perennials] will support these insects while providing potential food sources for insect eating birds such as blue birds and phoebes.

goldenrod gals are important protein source for
downy woodpeckers and black capped chickadees

Mockingbirds, robins, cedar waxwings, bluebirds, ruby-crowned kinglet, brown thrashers and many others feed on berries during the winter. This red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) shrub is a popular stop, as is the American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) and winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) shrubs. Other fruit fruit bearing plants to consider include virburnum, red-twig dogwood (Cornus sericea), sumac (Rhus spp), dogwood, Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).

Pine warblers tend to come down from the tree tops during winter, making them less of a stranger to our backyard. They are hard to miss with their bright yellow feathers. In winter, it is easier to distinguish pine warblers from goldfinches, as goldfinches are seasonally dimorphic, altering from mustard gold to olive-brown tones.  

Pine warblers are the only warbler species to eat seeds and are often found visiting suet feeders. They are also fruit eaters, so plant native persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), sumac (Rhus spp) and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) to feed these warblers from your garden. 

Mourning doves are year round residence and ground foragers, searching for seeds and berries. They like to hang out in protected areas such as grasses and near shrubs. Plants that support them include a variety of 'weeds' including pokeweed (phytolacca americana), ragweed (Ambrosia trifida). and smartweed (Polygonum). Planting sunflowers and native grasses will attract these birds. 

Grasses not only provide food, but also shelter and nesting sites. Consider including little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium), switch grass (Panicum virgatum), big blue stem (Andropogon gerardii), prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), river oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), or purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis). 

Bluebirds are another pop of color in our otherwise muted landscape. We have a healthy population of eastern bluebirds since posting nesting boxes throughout our property years ago. Bluebirds forage for berries from flowering dogwood, American holly, sumac, Eastern red cedar, and Virginia Creeper. 

On the coldest of days, we like to put out mealworms and nuggets for these birds. Bluebird beaks are not made to crack open seeds, making winter feeding even more challenging. I've written about feeding bluebirds in winter in previous years. You can read about that here and here.

Blue Jays are omnivores, but particularly love acorns, so if you plant oak trees they are sure to visit. They often find and extract insects from trees too. 

blue jay with prized insect

Of course all these songbirds attract hawks, and our property is territory to several of these majestic birds of prey. As difficult as it may be to see beloved song birds fall prey to a larger predator, the circle of life must be honored. In fact, taking out the weaker birds improves the strength of the songbird species. 

Now is a good time to evaluate how well your garden provides for our feathered friends. Consider those important trees and shrubs that provide a reliable food source. Are you providing shelter opportunities during the winter months? Gardens rich in berries and seeds, not only help birds during the barren winter months, but also prepares them for a healthy spring breeding season.