All-you-can-eat buffet for native wild birds
With the right shrubs and perennials, we can offer our wild birds a richly laid table in the garden. We would now like to introduce you to the most important food sources.
The most important woody plants
Native fruit-bearing wild shrubs are the main source of food for our birds. The rowan/ mountain ash feeds up to 63 bird species, the single-stemmed hawthorn 32 species and the wild apple around 19.
Picture from left to right: rowanberry, hawthorn, elderberry
Our native wild birds feed differently depending on the season and the food supply. Especially in winter, fruits and seed heads are important for the survival of many species.
Important woody plants are:
- Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
- Hawthorn (Crategus monogyna/laevigata) - also very important for insects such as lemon butterflies
- Bird cherry (Prunus avium)
- Speierling (Sorbus domestica)
- Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
- Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)
- Peacock cap (Euonymus europaeus)
- Native wild rose species (dog rose, apple rose, pike rose, vinegar rose, beaver rose, etc.)
- Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Picture from left to right: Pfaffenkapperl, wild rose, cornelian cherry
Perennials, which are important sources of food:
In summer, perennials are insect magnets in the garden and are therefore also interesting for insect-eating birds. In the winter months, the seed heads serve as a source of food for many birds. It is therefore very important not to cut back perennials until spring!
- Meadowsweet(Filipendula ulmaria)
- Wild teasel(Dipsacus fullonum)
- Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense)
- Knapweed(Centaurea jacea)
- Large-flowered and black mullein(Verbascum densiflorum, V. nigrum)
- Adder's bugloss(Echium vulgare)
- Angelicasylvestris (Angelica sylvestris)
Picture from left to right: wood angelica, viper's bugloss, meadowsweet
Important tips:
- Leave the leaves lying around because there are many insects hiding underneath that serve as food for the birds.
- Similarly, not all the fruit should be harvested, but left on the tree and on the ground for birds.
- Now you can plant native shrubs!
Sincerely yours #beetschwestern
