Native plants are always loved by all creatures and birds eat them as food. Hummingbirds consume the nectar of Turtleheads. The fruits of Seedboxes feed birds such as White-thoated Sparrows. They also offer the benefit as a place for birds to take a rest and live.
No Insects, No Birds.
While taking a walk around your neighborhood, you often see bright colorful flowers that might come from garden centers. Because of selective breeding, they have unique color variations and are resilient to tough situations such as weather and insects. Taking care of those flowers might be easy. For instance, marigolds can bloom longer than other flowers as its traits. Its smell keeps insects away and even protects other flowers in the same garden plot! They look attractive to us, but they should NOT be if you are a real bird lover.
Please look at these facts:
Do you realize how important caterpillars and insects are for birds? Ginkgo is an example, but we can obviously see caterpillars and insects have such a strong connection with native plants. There is a big gap! For birds to stay in your garden, you may want to welcome worms, bugs, and whatever they eat.
Native plants are always loved by those creatures and birds eat them as food. Hummingbirds consume the nectar of Turtleheads. The fruits of Seedbox plants feed birds such as White-throated Sparrows. They also offer the benefit as a place for birds to take a rest and live.
Above: (left) Seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia) This delicate species lives only in wetlands, in full sun and acid soils. Like many others in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae), the flowers open a few hours after sunrise and drop their petals by nightfall. The unique cubic fruits, with a small hole at the top, contain up to 2000 dry seeds that rattle when you shake the fruit. Learn More. Courtesy of the Piedmont Chapter Virginia Native Plant Society and the Virginia Native Plant Society. (Right) White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) by Allan Claybon.
For more information about having native plants, go here:
We have been having WCAS Bird Friendly Native Plant Sales from April through June and are planning to have a pre-sale online for planting this fall. If you have specific native plant to buy in your mind, please contact me so that we might be able to fit your request. Contact me, Kaoru Tsubone here.
Make our community a bird friendly place together! Purchase your native plants below or at the Store
The Feathered Flyer blog publishes human interest stories about birding and habitat conservation.
After watching, ‘My Painted Trillium Quest' by Tom Fishburn, Kim Langley, WCAS Member said, “Wonderful! It was a lift just knowing that such a site exists and is being protected!”
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Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society
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