Bring on the birds

If you’re interested in attracting more of a particular type of bird to your property, there are certain shrubs and perennials you can add.

American goldfinches, those lovely little birds that become more and more yellow as the weather begins to warm, nest relatively late in the season to coincide with thistle seed production. The seeds serve as both food and nesting material. Their nests have been found in staghorn sumac, birch trees, as well as manitoba and amur maples. They are well-woven and cup-shaped and often contain small twigs, plant fibres, spider silk, grapevine bark, grasses and string.

Who wouldn’t love to have a pair of Northern Cardinals in the garden with the male’s bright red plumage? They build their nests about 1.5 metres above the ground, choosing dogwood, cedar, blue spruce and white spruce. The structures are large and bulky with lots of twining material woven in like virginia creeper, grape and even strips of plastic.

Song sparrow nests are coarsely made and hung low in shrubs, beneath clumps of grass or on the edge of thickets and brambles. Tamarack twigs (Larix sp.), white pine needles (Pinus strobus) and common milkweed are some of the materials used. A favorite lining is goat's beard "fluff".

The endearing Black-capped chickadee can often be trained to pluck seeds from your hand. They prefer to nest in cavities, hence one reason for leaving at least one rotting tree on your property if possible (also for the insects it houses which in turn attract even more bird species). Chickadees line their nests with feathers, lots of moss, seed fluff and grass.

A very popular plant for many nests is the dog-strangling vine (Vincetoxicum nigrum), however this is one species you’re better off without. Highly aggressive, it’s classified as a minor invasive alien by Evironment Canada.

An interesting habit of some birds in warmer hemispheres is the tendency to use fresh plant material that has aromatic qualities. The theory is that they do this on purpose to repel blood-sucking flying insects from preying on their hatchlings.