DATE:    01/16/04 
WRITER:  Rebecca Slater, 1-888-656-9988
EDITOR:  Susan Bedingfield, (864) 656-3876

Create a backyard
bird paradise 

			By Rebecca Slater
			Horticulture Specialist
		Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center

	CLEMSON - Many garden plants take a break in cold weather by 
becoming dormant, but including plants in your landscape that create 
habitat for the birds will continue the enjoyment of your garden 
throughout the year. 
	Creating a bird paradise is really quite simple.  Birds need 
three things to survive: food, water and cover. Given a little thought 
and planning, these can easily be provided in any backyard. 
	First, you should walk around your yard and figure out what 
habitat you may already have. Do you have any large trees such as oaks 
or pines?  	How about some smaller trees with edible fruits like 
dogwoods or crabapples? Do you have a birdbath or a pond? You may 
already be on your way to creating the perfect place for birds. 
	Birds like their habitat in layers. Large trees are at the top.
Smaller trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, annuals and ornamental 
grasses are in the middle.  And open ground, such as lawn and pasture, 
is at the bottom. 
	Large trees provide cover and nesting sites for a variety of 
birds.  Some also provide food like acorns, nuts and fruits. Hickories,
sweetgum, tulip poplar, oaks, persimmon, black cherry, red maple, black
 gum, pines, red cedar, magnolias and American holly are all excellent 
large trees for birds and will grow throughout South Carolina. 	
	Bluebirds, robins, chickadees, Scarlet tanagers, Baltimore 
orioles, warblers, and red-eyed vireos are some birds that require 
large trees. 
	Small trees offer plentiful food sources for birds. Migratory 
birds such as wood thrushes and rose-breasted grosbeaks visit these 
plants to refuel on their way south. Dogwood, sassafras, hawthorn, wild 
cherry, crabapple and chinquapin are small trees that draw birds like a 
magnet and will grow well throughout the state. 
	Shrubs provide good nesting sites and escape from predators. 
Many also offer good things to eat.  Blueberries, blackberries, 
hollies, native azaleas, beautyberries, oakleaf hydrangeas, 
elderberries and some viburnums are bird favorites. Northern cardinals,
bluebirds, cedar waxwings, mockingbirds, thrashers, gray catbirds and 
many others love this kind of habitat.  
	Vines create a thicket that birds find irresistible for nesting 
and feeding. Try our state flower as well as trumpet vine, crossvine, 
Virginia creeper and coral honeysuckle. Hummingbirds love the bright 
flowers of both trumpet vine and cross vine.
	Perennial and annual flowers provide birds with nutritious 
seeds. In a sunny area, try sunflowers, coneflowers, asters, black-eyed 
susans, coreopsis and goldenrod.  Simply leave the plants standing 
after they flower, and the birds will do the rest. 
	Ornamental grasses also supply seeds to hungry birds. Bushy 
bluestem, broomsedge, Indian grass (the South Carolina state grass), 
splitbeard bluestem, switchgrass and northern sea oats are all beloved 
by birds. 
	Lawns and pastures are important to bluebirds and robins, so 
try to keep some of your yard open for them. A small lawn is really all
that's needed, and it's much cheaper and easier to maintain than a 
larger one.
	Don't forget about water! You can provide all the food in the 
world, but unless there is a water source, you may not see many birds. 
Water offers birds a place to splash and drink, which is pretty fun to 
watch from indoors on a gray winter day. 
	Birdbaths are probably the quickest and easiest way to bring 
water to your bird habitat. A birdbath at ground level will attract 
small birds like chickadees and finches.  Taller birdbaths (at least 
two feet off the ground) work well for larger birds like robins, 
cardinals and blue jays and protect them from attack. Birdbaths should 
be sited out in an open area yet within a few feet of protective trees 
or shrubs. 
	Fountains and ponds are more elaborate water sources and 
usually require professional installation.
	For more detailed information on attracting and feeding birds, 
please visit The Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center 
website at http://hgic.clemson.edu   
		***************************************
	For answers to your gardening, pest and food safety questions,
visit the Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center website at
http://hgic.clemson.edu, call us toll-free at 1-888-656-9988, or write
to PSA Media Relations, 120 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson University, Clemson,
S.C. 29634-0129.
				END