Audubon North Carolina, the state office of the National Audubon Society, is helping local gardeners bring a long-missing staple to their backyards this fall in support of birds: berries.
“While native dogwood and magnolia trees are quite common, native berry-producing shrubs are almost completely missing from commercial and residential landscaped areas across North Carolina because they’re not typically thought of as a backyard plant,” explained Audubon Ambassador for Western NC Tom Tribble. “In the fall especially, berries from plants like spicebush, viburnum, and beautyberry provide essential fuel for bird migration and support birds who winter here.”
This fall, the focus is on berries—both for the beauty they bring to our landscapes, and the much-needed food source they offer our migrating birds. Songbirds’ migration is primarily fueled by native berries, which contain the high fat content birds need to migrate south successfully.
“With development and changes in weather patterns shrinking the places where birds can live, and most songbird species already in decline, it’s more important than ever for us to choose native plants that offer up nutritious foods for birds,” said Tribble. “Junk food” like privets are among the most popular shrubs in landscaping, but have low nutritional value for birds.
Interested gardeners can start now by looking up the best plants for their area by zip code or by visiting a local participating plant nursery.