100 Plants to Feed the Birds
Turn Your Home Garden into a Healthy Bird Habitat
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- $23.99
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
The growing group of bird enthusiasts who enjoy feeding and watching their feathered friends will learn how they can expand their activity and help address the pressing issue of habitat loss with 100 Plants to Feed the Birds. In-depth profiles offer planting and care guidance for 100 native plant species that provide food and shelter for birds throughout the year, from winter all the way through breeding and migrating periods. Readers will learn about plants they can add to their gardens and cultivate, such as early-season pussy willow and late-season asters, as well as wild plants to refrain from weeding out, like jewelweed and goldenrod. Others, including 29 tree species, may already be present in the landscape and readers will learn how these plants support the birds who feed and nest in them. Introductory text explains how to create a healthy year-round landscape for birds. Plant photographs and range maps provide needed visual guidance to selecting the right plants for any location in North America.
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this handy guide, For the Birds podcaster Erickson (The Love Lives of Birds) explains how to design an inviting habitat for feathered friends. She provides a rundown of 100 trees, grasses, herbs, and shrubs that readers can plant to attract a variety of birds, and details ideal growing conditions and the native range for each. Bluestem grass, for instance, thrives in most of the U.S. outside the Northwest and supplies nesting material for sparrows and juncos, while black-eyed Susans produce "seeds relished by cardinals, titmice and chickadees." Douglas fir trees require well-drained soil and offer roosting spots for woodpeckers, who eat the insects that live in the trees. To attract hummingbirds, Erickson recommends planting coralberry or blueberry, and notes that the latter hosts "caterpillars that feed insectivorous birds." Encouraging readers to think long term, she writes that though maple and oak trees take years to begin producing seeds, they host insects that birds can eat much earlier and make a valuable addition to any garden. Nature lovers will adore the photos of birds enjoying the described flora, and the use of symbols indicating which plants are good for nesting, attracting insects, and providing seeds makes the guide easy to digest at a glance. This is a must-have for backyard birdwatchers.
