Pine Ridge Gardens
Attracting Birds
to your garden, 
your yard, or your windowsill
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Water
A birdbath at the least (it can be homemade)
Preferably dripping water as birds are attracted to the sound. You can make your own dripper by using a large plastic jug with a small hole punched in it & suspending it above your birdbath.
Birds love a slow sprinkler.  In the garden, I've noticed it really attracts lots of birds as they like to bathe in oscillating waters. Hummingbirds, goldfinch, titmouses, robins, black-capped chickadees & more.


Dust Bath 
Many birds enjoy taking a dust bath.  This helps get rid of lice & other parasites.  It need not be large - a 2 x 3 foot area will do. 
 

Food & Shelter
A mixed variety of trees, shrubs, vines, grasses & wildflowers is best if you have the space.  Native species that produce fruit are good.

And don't deadhead flowers, leave the stalks thru the winter & cut them down in very early spring.  Many birds such as finches, sparrows, towhees, buntings, thrashers & juncos relish the later winter treats they find on members of the aster family & more.

Feed suet as part of your 'extra' help for the   birds. See below for an excellent kind. 

Links

A website to visit:  www.wildbirds.org.


Plants to Attract Birds
Botanical name Common name Birds attracted
Aesculus species Buckeye Hummingbirds feed on early nectar
Amelanchier species Juneberries, sarvisberries Orioles, tanagers, bluebirds and towhees
Ampelopsis species Peppervine Robins, mockingbirds, catbird, chickadee
Aralia spinosa Devil's walking stick Thrushes, orioles, mockingbirds & vireos
Aronia arbutifolia  red chokeberry Meadowlark, catbirds, cedar waxwing and
Aronia melanocarpa black chokeberry Wild turkeys, jays, mockingbirds
Callicarpa americana Purple beautyberry Robins, cardinals, mockingbirds, Bobwhites, bluebirds, cedar waxwings & thrushes
Callicarpa americana lactea White beautyberry
Carpinus caroliniana Musclewood, blue beech Ruffled grouse, wood duck, Myrtle warblers
Carya illinoensis Native pecan Grouse, wild turkeys, jays & woodpeckers
Castanea pumila Allegheny chinkapin Wild turkeys, jays, woodpeckers
Carya ovata Shagbark hickory White breasted nuthatch, 
Celastrus scandens American bittersweet At least 15 species of birds eat the fruit
Ceonothus americana New Jersey Tea quail
Ceonothus ovatus Inland NJ tea / Red root wood duck and quail
Cephalanthus occidentalis Buttonbush Hummingbirds catch insects on this shrub
Celtis tenufolia Dwarf hackberry Bluebirds, fox sparrows, phoebes & more
Cercis canadensis Eastern redbud Carolina chickadee, 
Clethra acuminata Cinnamonbark clethra Hummingbirds
Clethra alnifolia Summersweet
Cocculus caroliniana Carolina snailseed vine Brown thrasher, eastern phoebe, robins
Cornus alternaefolia Pagoda dogwood  More than 90 species of birds feed on Dogwood fruits incl. vireos, white-throated sparrows, bluebirds, indigo buntings, cardinals, kingbirds, thrushes and many warblers; other birds hunt for insects in their bark. 
Cornus amomum Pale dogwood 
Cornus drummondii Rough leaved dogwood
Cornus florida Flowering dogwood
Cornus obliqua silky dogwood
Cornus racemosa Gray dogwood
Corylus americana American hazelnut Downy woodpecker, wild turkeys, jays
Fagus grandifolia American beech Grouse, wild turkeys, woodpeckers & jays
Forestiera neomexicana Desert olive Quail, mallards and wood ducks
Fraxinus quadrangulata Blue ash Wood duck, evening grosbeak, purple finch
Hydrangea arborescens Wild hydrangea Wild turkeys, chickadee, Carolina wren
Ilex opaca American holly  Waxwings, catbirds, bluebirds, robins, hermit thrush & mockingbirds enjoy holly fruit.
Ilex verticillata Winterberry holly
Juglans cinerea Butternut / white walnut Carolina wrens, nuthatches & chickadees
Juniperus asheii Ash's juniper Blue bird, catbird, evening grosbeak, Hermit thrush, Myrtle warbler, crossbill & waxwings
Juniperus virginiana Eastern red cedar
Lindera benzoin spicebush Wood thrush, veery & at least 15 species
Liquidambar styraciflua Sweet gum Chicadees, towhee, carolina wren, juncos
Lirodendron tulipifera tulip poplar Purple finch, house finch, hummingbird
Lonicera sempervirens trumpet honeysuckle Hummingbird, bluebird & finches
Magnolia acuminata Cucumber tree Red-eyed vireos, American redstart, towhees, robins, ruffled grouse, wild turkeys, Northern flicker, pileated  woodpecker, crested flycatcher & bluejays.
Magnolia macrophylla Bigleaf magnolia
Magnolia tripetala Umbrella magnolia
Magnolia virginiana Sweet bay magnolia 
Mahonia trifoliata Algarita / agarita Cedar waxwings, chickadees & robins
Myrica cerifera Southern Wax Myrtle  Chickadees, vireos, bobwhites, myrtle warble
Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Rosebreasted grosbeak & cedar waxwings
Oxydendrum arboreum Sourwood  Wild turkeys, bobwhites & grouse
Persea borbonia Red bay  Eastern bluebird, robin and bobwhite
Physocarpus opulifolius ninebark Ducks, geese, doves & shorebirds
Prunus carolinianum Carolina cherry laurel  80 species inc. bluebirds, tanagers & orioles
Quercus coccinea Scarlet oak Jays, chickadees, quail, turkeys,  grosbeaks, cardinals and grouse are some of the birds that eat acorns along with the other critters that love them too. Nesting sites are widely used in oaks. 
Quercus macrocarpa Bur oak
Quercus nigra Water oak
Quercus palustris Pin oak
Quercus virginiana Live oak
Rhus aromatica Fragrant sumac More than 95 species have been observed eating sumac berries incl. woodpeckers, chickadees & tanagers.
Rhus glabra Winged sumac
Rhus glabra Smooth sumac
Staphylea trifolia Bladdernut American goldfinch, pine siskins
Viburnum dentatum Arrowwood Robins, grosbeaks, thrushes, waxwings, catbirds, thrashers, towhees, bobwhites, cuckoos, cardinals & bluebirds
Viburnum nudum Shonny haw
Viburnum prunifolium Blackhaw
Vitis riparia Riverbank grape Tennessee warbler, red bellied woodpecker
Zanthoxylem clava-herculis Prickley ash Red eyed vireo and bobwhites

Suet Cakes  by Ozark Wild Bird Products

We are pleased to offer the finest suet cakes we have found.  These cakes are produced using only beef kidney fat which is higher in protein than most fats that are used in other suet cakes that are on the market.  Bo (Ozark Wild Bird Products) renders this fat three times, filtering it carefully, before adding other ingredients.  The cooking method & care taken produces a product that stays firmer in warm weather & does not get rancid.  Ozark Wild Bird Products have been producing suet cakes for over ten years and have been interested in birds for a much longer time. 

The diet of Insectivores (insect-eating birds) may contain some seeds, but they primarily eat insects to get protein.  Suet is a good way to provide protein when insects are scarce.  Traditional thought is for suet to be fed in winter ….. which is good but suet is still needed in spring & early summer when insect populations are at their lowest point.  The energy demands of birds go up as nesting & hatchlings require much demand on the bird’s reserves. 
 

We are offering the 14.5 oz. peanut suet cake consisting of beef kidney fat, peanut hearts & cornmeal.  $3.00 ea  

Also, we are offering the 14.5 oz. original seed cake consisting of beef kidney fat, cracked corn, white proso millet, black oil sunflower seeds, cornmeal & calcium carbornate.  $3.00 ea  

A well made wire holder for the suet cakes is  $5.00

Unfortunately, shipping cost is a problem!  We can ship these cakes & holder to you at no extra charge if they are included in an order with plants!  Otherwise, shipping charges are as follows: 
$5.00 for up to 2 cakes & 1 wireholder.  $8.00 for up to 5 cakes & 1 wireholder.                  E mail us for shipping on higher quantities
 
 
 
 

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01/30/07