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A solid layer of shrubs can be very beneficial to your backyard, especially when you choose the right shrubs to attract birds and other wildlife.

Below your yard’s tall trees and above the grass and flowers that you care for, shrubbery can give layers to your yard. Shrubs can provide fantastic protective cover for birds as they look to get closer to food sources like your feeders while avoiding predators, and many of them also produce berries that will please many types of birds, from woodpeckers to chickadees.

Key Takeaways

• Go native: Pick native plants because they support more wildlife than non-natives. They provide better food for birds, and native plants often host more insects, which birds need to feed their young.
• Match your shrubs to your goals: Think about why you’re planting shrubs. Need nectar for hummingbirds or thick cover for hiding birds? Choose accordingly. The right shrubs can offer food, nesting spots, or protection.
• Choose plants to fit your location: Different plants thrive in different areas, so make sure your choices suit your local climate and consider if any plant parts might be toxic to humans. It’s important to consider that before planting.

Start Native

Forgive me if you’ve heard this before, but selecting native plants is key. Non-native plants simply do not support the amount of life that native plants do. That’s not to say that a non-native shrub or two is bad — sometimes, you just like the look of a certain plant, native or not — but the benefits of native plants are undeniable.

Research by noteworthy entomologist Doug Tallamy has shown that native oak trees support over 500 species of caterpillars, while ginkgos, non-native trees, support only five, according to the National Audubon Society.

Certain birds require a multitude of insects to feed both themselves and their young, so the more insects the better. Non-native plants will still provide cover for wildlife and five species of caterpillars are better than none, but why not go all in on making your backyard as good as it can be for backyard birds?

Think of the Reasons You’re Planting Shrubs

The first thing you should think about is why you’re planting the shrubs. Is it to provide birds with cover? Food sources? Nesting sites? That will guide your decision-making process.

For example, if you want to benefit hummingbirds by providing nectar-rich plants, you’ll want something with appealing, nectar-rich flowers. If you want to provide birds with cover, you’ll want something that grows thick enough to keep them concealed. Often, shrubs can provide berries that will fill up robins, cedar waxwings, chickadees, and many more fruit-eating birds.

If you’re picking a fruit-producing shrub, do a little bit of extra research to see if any parts of the plant (fruit included) are toxic to humans.

Without further ado, here are the shrubs you should consider to benefit your backyard birds.

Eastern Plants

What grows well in each area of the United States will vary, and whether or not a plant is native will make a big difference in how many insects and birds it can support, though any shrub that provides cover and nesting space can certainly benefit birds.

You’ll also want to consider how much rain falls where you’ll be planting the shrubs, as well as what kind of soil you have.

Northern Bayberry

Northern bayberry is a northeastern shrub with winter berries that can be eaten by a wide variety of bird species such as catbirds, chickadees, and others, including the yellow-rumped warbler. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds, this warbler is the only one that can digest the waxy bayberry, which allows them to winter quite far north along the East Coast.

Southern Bayberry

Also known as wax myrtle, the southern bayberry grows from the mid-Atlantic down through Mexico and Central America. While the northern bayberry grows up into Canada, this is a species that can thrive in the American Southeast.

Nannyberry

Nannyberry plants can grow quite tall — up to 36 feet tall, according to the USDA. Its berries, like the bayberry, can provide food for many birds, while its white flowers can benefit native insect pollinators. It’s native across the northern United States and into Canada on the eastern end of the continent.

Winterberry

Native across much of the eastern United States, the winterberry is also sometimes called the winterberry holly. It’s one of several hollies native to the United States. Among the others is the American holly, another berry-producing plant that’s also known as the Christmas holly.

This list won’t include every plant with fruit on it, but if it’s a native plant that produces fruit, there’s a good chance it’ll help out your feathered friends.

Silky Dogwood

Silky dogwood is among the dogwood plants that can be planted in your backyard to produce food for wildlife like birds. Keep in mind that deer also love silky dogwood, so if you view these common ungulates as pests, silky dogwood won’t be a good choice for your backyard.

Wintergreen

Wintergreen is another eastern species that does best in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. According to Wild Adirondacks, it’s a valuable food for large ground birds like turkeys, pheasants, and ruffed grouse, with wintergreen making up 2.2% of ruffed grouse diets in Maine, one study found.

Western Plants

Western plants face their own difficulties, from drought to heavy mountain snowfall in the winter months and everything in between.

Manzanita

Manzanitas are a group of drought-resistant shrub species that can be found across the West. The berries are edible to humans, and they’ll be enjoyed by birds.

This evergreen shrub can grow to over 25 feet tall, according to Oregon State University. The tree stems are a purple-red color.

American Black Elderberry and Red Elderberry

The American black elderberry could fit into either the western category (aside from the Pacific Northwest) or the eastern category, while the red elderberry can thrive from Alaska down the Pacific Coast and into Arizona and New Mexico.

The fruits of this plant will attract hungry birds but can be toxic to humans. Other parts of the plant may also be poisonous, so keep that in mind.

Chokecherry

Chokecherries are native to much of North America, and like the red elderberry, there may be concerns about toxicity to humans at certain times of the year, but by late summer, the fruit makes for good wildlife food.

Rubber Rabbitbrush

Rubber rabbitbrush is a member of the same family as sagebrush, and thrives across the West. Deer and rabbits may feed on it, and it can provide birds with cover low to the ground.

Redosier Dogwood

Redosier dogwood is a species that can grow across the West as well as northern areas of the Midwest and East. It can handle tough conditions, and in addition to providing cover for wildlife species, its berries can feed the birds.

Bottlebrush Buckeye

Native to the American Southeast, specifically Alabama, this shrub grows tall and wide, with pleasant bottlebrush-shaped flower rods. Flowering relatively late in the season, it’s a shrub whose flowers will be popular with both hummingbirds and butterflies.

Snowberry

Snowberry can grow as far north as Alaska and can work in many other northern locations as well. Berries may be toxic to humans, but they provide food for birds as well as thick safety cover.

In Conclusion

This is not an exhaustive list of shrubs you can plant to benefit your backyard wildlife. While many of these species focus on food for wildlife, shrubs that provide cover or nesting sites for birds can be equally as important.

As long as you’re planting native plants, your backyard shrubs are also likely to benefit local wildlife simply by allowing for insects to thrive.

Happy birding!

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