Member Reports: Fruits for Birds

 I’ve been watching the birds feast on fruit this past couple of weeks.  First, the serviceberry fruited.  Birds came from all over to enjoy the little berries.  Next, there were cherries on the cherry tree. Today, there is one cherry left.  The cardinals found them to be especially delicious. Looking around, I found blueberries, dogwood berries and crabapples developing. 

 

Photo by Kathy Fell: Ripening Blueberries

Here are some native species, common across the Southern Piedmont, that you might consider adding to your yard to feed the birds.  I pulled this list from our upcoming guide on the Native Plants of the Southern Piedmont.

 

Trees

•         Asimina triloba (Pawpaw)
•         Celtis occidentalis (Sugarbery)
•         Celtis occidentalis (Hackberry)
•         Chionanthus virginicus (White Fringetree)
•         Cornus Florida (Dogwood)
•         Diospyros virginiana (Persimmon)
•         Ilex opaca (American Holly)
•         Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red Cedar)
•         Morus Rubra (Red Mulberry)
•         Nyssa sylvatica (Black Gum)
•         Prunus angustifolia (Chickasaw Plum)
•         Prunus serotina (Wild Black Cherry)
•         Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)

 

Photo by Kathy Fell: Developing dogwood berries

Shrubs

•         Cornus amomum (Silky dogwood)
•         Crataegus uniflora (Dwarf Hawthorn)
•         Gaylussacia baccata (Black Huckleberry)
•         Ilex verticillate (Winterberry)
•         Lindera benzoin (Spicebush)
•         Rhus glabra (Smooth sumac)
•         Rosa Carolina (Pasture rose)
•         Rosa palustris (Swamp rose)
•         Rubus flagellaris (Dewberry)
•         Rubus occidentalis (Black Raspberry)
•         Sambucus canaadensis (Elderberry)
•         Vaccinium pallidum (Blue Ridge Blueberry)
•         Vaccinium stamineum (Deerberry)
•         Viburnum acerifolium (Mapleleaf viburnum)
•         Viburnum nudum (Possum-haw viburnum)
•         Viburnum prunifolium (Black-haw viburnum)

Photo by Kathy Fell: Rubus flagellaris 

This grows low to the ground and is also enjoyed by box turtles!

Vines

•         Lonicera sempervirens (Trumpet honeysuckle)
•         Mitchella repens (Partridgeberry)
•         Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
•         Passiflora lutea (Yellow passion vine)
•         Vitis aestivalis (Summer Grape) 

Photo from https://azpoison.com/poison/plants/virginia-creeper

To learn more about which species of birds feed on different species of native plants in your area, visit  https://www.audubon.org/native-plants