Berries That Attract Birds

Bird feeders are great for attracting seed-eating birds like chickadees, mourning doves, starlings, and sparrows. And of course, hummingbird feeders will attract hummingbirds. But there is a whole group of birds that feeders just don’t reach: fruit-eating birds.

This group, which includes robins, mockingbirds, thrashers, tanagers, orioles, waxwings, and others, are particularly fond of berries and other small fruits. They also eat insects, especially during the summer, because that’s what they feed their young, but when the brood is gone, they start to look for fruit to eat again. If you can supply the berries they want, you’ll be able to draw them into your yard.

In the wild, wild berries abound: on the edges of fields, in clearings in woods, along streams, etc. In cities, though, more space is given over to asphalt and concrete than berry bushes and fruit trees. And in suburbs, the ever-present “green lawn” creates a bird desert that only a few worm-eating species will visit. But it’s easy enough to change that! Just integrate some of the following plants into your landscaping and you’ll see. To paraphrase the movie, “if you plant them, they will come”.

A major plus is that berries are ornamental too, plus many of these plants offer beautiful flowers and often attractive foliage too, green in summer and brilliantly colorful in fall. Of course, most are also delicious… but you have to make a decision here: if you choose to harvest them yourself, you won’t attract birds!

Here are some varieties well worth trying:

1. Actaea spp. (black cohosh) Zone 3
2. Amelancher spp. (serviceberry) zones 2 to 4, depending on the species

3. 

   Ampelopsis spp. (porcelain vine) zones 4 to 8, depending on the species

4. Arctostaphylos spp. (bearberry) zones 2-8, depending on the species
5. Aronia spp. (chokeberry) zone 3 to 5, depending on the species
6. Asparagus spp. (asparagus) zones 3 to 10, depending on the species
7. Berberis spp. (barberry) zones 3 to 8, depending on the species
8. Callicarpa spp. (beautyberry) zones 6 to 8, depending on the species
9. Celastrus spp. (bittersweet) zones 3 to 5, depending on the species
10. Chaenomeles spp. (Japanese quince) zone 5
11. Cornus spp. (dogwood) zones 1 to 8, depending on the species

12. 

    Cotoneaster spp. (cotoneaster) zones 2-8, depending on the species

13. Crataegus spp. (hawthorn) zones 3 to 5, depending on the species
14. Eleaegnus spp. (Russian olive, silverberry) zone 3 to 7, depending on the species
15. Empetrum spp. (crowberry) Zone 2
16. Euonymus spp. (euonymus, burning bush) zones 4 to 8, depending on the species
17. Fragaria spp. (strawberry) zones 2-7, depending on the species
18. Gaultheria spp. (wintergreen) zones 2-8, depending on the species

19. 

    Hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) Zone 3

20. Ilex spp. (holly) zones 3 to 10, depending on the species
21. Juniperus spp. (juniper) zones 2-7, depending on the species
22. Lonicera spp. (honeysuckle) zones 2-8, depending on the species
23. Lycium barbarum (goji) zone 6

24. 

    Mahonia spp. (Oregon grape) zones 4 to 8, depending on the species

25. Malus spp. (crabapple) zones 2 to 5, depending on the species
26. Menispermum spp. (moonseed) Zone 4
27. Mitchella repens (partridge berry) zone 3
28. Morus spp. (mulberry) zones 4 to 8, depending on the species
29. Myrica spp. (bayberry) zones 3-6, depending on the species
30. Nandina domestica (sacred bamboo) zone 7
31. Parthenocissus spp. (Boston ivy, Virginia creeper) zones 2-8, depending on the species
32. Physocarpus spp. (ninebark) zone 3

33. 

    Phytolacca americana (pokeweed) zone 4

34. Prunus spp. (cherry, chokecherry, black cherry, plum, wild plum, etc.) zones 2 to 8, depending on the species
35. Pyracantha spp. (burning bush) zones 6 to 8, depending on the species
36. Quercus spp. (oak) zones 3 to 9, depending on species
37. Rhus spp. (sumac) zones 3 to 8, depending on the species
38. Ribes spp. (currant, gooseberry) zone 3
39. Rosa spp. (rose) zones 2-8, depending on the species
40. Rubus spp. (blackberry, raspberry) zones 2-8, depending on the species
41. Sambucus spp. (elderberry) zone 3 to 5, depending on the species
42. Smilax spp. (sarsaparilla) zones 3 to 10, depending on the species

43. 

    Solanum spp. (tomato, bittersweet nightshade) annual or zone 5

44. Sorbus spp. (mountain ash) zones 3 to 5, depending on the species
45. Vaccinium spp. (blueberry, lingonberry, cranberry) zones 2-7, depending on the species
46. Viburnum spp. (viburnum) zones 2 to 6, depending on the species
47. Vitis spp. (grape) zones 3 to 7, depending on the species