How to Landscape your Property for Birding

Video Transcript

"Hello, welcome to Expert Village. My name is Wayne Petersen, director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society Important Bird Areas Program and we’re here this afternoon at the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshville, Massachusetts. Next we’re going to talk about backyard birding, a place where everybody has an opportunity to get involved and where many peoples interest in birding first begins. In thinking about landscaping for birds, one thing that’s very important to keep in mind, whenever possible plant native, think native. Lot’s of exotic species of vegetation have been imported into this country either deliberately or accidentally and have unfortunately become very aggressive and have taken over other natural botanical communities in pernicious ways. One example of a plant that’s readily obtainable in nurseries and birds like is something like the various members of the viburnum family. Beside my here is the arrow wood viburnum, a species that eventually in the autumn would have purple berries that are very much enjoyed by things like grey catbirds, mocking birds, American robins, cedar waxwings are all species that would take viburnum berries and it’s a shrub that grows very well in direct sun where it can be often planted in suburban backyards. Another tree species that’s quiet popular is black cherry, these black cherries have actually gone past their flower and are beginning to develop the berries that would eventually turn as you might suppose, black and these are often very popular with things like cedar waxwings. Cedar waxwings love black cherry berries and there are lots of other cherries some of which are ornamental and can be planted and that are said to be persistent in that in a lot of their fruits and berries would actually stay on well into the winter season when they can be enjoyed by things like mocking birds and cedar waxwings that will regularly come and take advantage of the persistent presence of these fruits."