Plants are one of the healthiest and most helpful ways to attract and support a wide variety of birds. In this colourful easy-reference guide, birding expert Laura Erickson details the 100 best native plants for providing food and habitat to backyard and migrating birds across North America. The growing group of bird enthusiasts who enjoy feeding and watching their feathered friends will learn how they can expand their activity and help address the pressing issue of habitat loss with 100 Plants to Feed the Birds. In-depth profiles offer planting and care guidance for 100 native plant species that provide food and shelter for birds throughout the year, from winter all the way through breeding and migrating periods. Readers will learn about plants they can add to their gardens and cultivate, such as early-season pussy willow and late-season asters, as well as wild plants to refrain from weeding out, like jewelweed and goldenrod. Others, including 29 tree species, may already be present in the landscape and readers will learn how these plants support the birds who feed and nest in them. Introductory text explains how to create a healthy year-round landscape for birds.
AUTHOR: Laura Erickson is the author of The Love Lives of Birds and The Bird Watching Answer Book, and is coauthor of Into the Nest. A recipient of the American Birding Association’s prestigious Roger Tory Peterson award, she has served as science editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, an editor of Bird Scope magazine, and a columnist and contributing editor for Birdwatching magazine. She produces For the Birds, a long-running public radio program and podcast, and lives in Duluth, Minnesota.