Plants for Birds

Kress Garden Inventory

All Four Small Kress Audubon Garden Signs

Have you visited the Kress Native Plant Garden at the Todd Wildlife Sanctuary? If so, you may be curious about the names and wildlife-attracting benefits of these beautiful native plants. Take a look below for a list of the plants. In addition to the birds, most are also attractive to pollinators, and some also provide food for the caterpillars. 

Image

Common Name/Scientific Name
+ Attributes (if provided)

May Attract

Allegheny serviceberry
Amelanchier laevis

Attributes: Shrubs, Trees, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

American elder
Sambucus canadensis

Attributes: Shrubs, Fruit

Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Waxwings

Aromatic aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Black chokeberry
Aronia melanocarpa (photinia melanocarpa) 

Attributes: Shrubs, Fruit

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Vireos, Waxwings

Black-eyed susan
Rudbeckia hirta

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Blunt mountain mint
Pycnanthemum muticum

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies, Skippers, Flower Flies, also native bees - honeybees, bumblebees

Blue-Gray GnatcatcherEastern BluebirdEastern PhoebeKingletsWood WarblersWaxwings (Birds attracted to flying insects) 
Boneset
Eupatorum perfoliatum

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, ThrushesWood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Brown-eyed susan
Rudbeckia triloba

Attributes: Annuals/Per. Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Butterflyweed (Butterfly Milkweed)
Asclepias tuberosa

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Nuts

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Hummingbirds, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Cardinal flower
Lobelia cardinalis

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Hummingbirds, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Dotted horsemint
Monarda punctata
Hummingbirds
Eastern beebalm
Monarda bradburiana
Hummingbirds

Eastern bluestar
Amsonia tabernaemontana s. salicifolia

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies (such as Mourning Cloak), Caterpillars, Hummingbird Moths, Carpenter Bees

Hummingbirds
 

Eastern Joe-Pye Weed
Eupatorium dubium

TitmiceFinches (American Goldfinch), Sparrows (Dark-eyed Junco), Wrens (feed on seeds and insects)

False Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies (especially Crescent Butterflies, Common Ringlet), Bees, Wasps

Hummingbirds

Foxglove beardtongue
Penstemon digitalis

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Moths, Bees

Hummingbirds

Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea

Attributes: Annuals/Per.

Sparrows, Orioles, Wood Warblers, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Vireos, Waxwings

Great blue lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies (especially Monarch)

Hummingbirds
Green (Winter King) hawthorn
Crataegus viridis*

Fruit is eaten by American Robin, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Purple Finch and Wild Turkey

Hairy beardtongue
Penstemon hirsutus – 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Hummingbirds, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Heart-leaved aster
Symphyotrichum cordifolium 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Hummingbirds
Helen's flower (Common sneezeweed)
Helenium autumnale 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Bees

Finches (American Goldfinch), and other seed-eating birds

Highbush Cranberry Viburnum
Viburnum opulus var. trilobum

Attributes: Shrubs, Trees, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Hollow stem Joe-Pye weed
Eutrochium fistulosum 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies (larval host for the beautiful Clymene moth), Caterpillars, Bees

TitmiceFinches (American Goldfinch), Sparrows (Dark-eyed Junco), Wrens (feed on seeds and insects)

Lanceleaf tickseed
Coreopsis lanceolata

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Seeds

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Vireos, Waxwings

Little False bluestem
Schizacharium scoparium

Attributes: Grasses, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Seeds

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Marsh marigold
Caltha palustris - 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Syrphid Flies, Bees, and Cuckoo Bees

Hummingbirds

New England aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies, Caterpillars, Seeds

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Nodding pink onion
Allium cernuum 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies, Bees

Hummingbirds
Northern blazing star
Liatris scariosa 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies (especially Monarch and Tiger Swallowtail), Skippers, Bees

Hummingbirds, Finches (American Goldfinch), and other seed-eating birds
Pink tickseed
Coreopsis rosea 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies, Bees

HummingbirdsFinches, and other seed-eating birds
Prairie coneflower
Ratibida pinata 

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Moths, Bees - also serves as larval host for Silvery Checkerspot butterfly, Common Eupithecia, and Wavy-lined Emerald.

HummingbirdsFinches (American Goldfinch) feed on seeds and insects

Red chokeberry
Aronia arbutifolia (Photinia pyrifolia) 

Attributes: Shrubs, Fruit

Sparrows, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Mockingbirds & ThrashersVireos, Waxwings

Red elderberry (Red Elder)
Sambucus racemosa

Attributes: Shrubs, Nectar, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Hummingbirds, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Red mulberry
Morus rubra (D)

Attributes: Trees, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Red osier dogwood
Cornus sericea

Attributes: Shrubs, Trees, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Corydalis sempervirens Rock Harlequin
Rock harlequin
Corydalis sempervirens

Attributes: Annuals/Biennial, Butterflies, Bees

Hummingbirds

Seaside goldenrod
Solidago sempervirens

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Succulents, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Shadblow serviceberry
Amelanchier canadensis
Fruit is eaten by many birds including: American Robin, Baltimore Oriole, Gray Catbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, Mourning Dove, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Towhee, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Northern Cardinal, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Flicker, and Northern Mockingbird

Silky dogwood
Cornus amomum

Attributes: Shrubs, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Spicebush
Lindera benzoin

Attributes: Shrubs, Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars (Spicebush Swallowtail)

Fruit is eaten by tanagers, Great Crested Flycatcher, Gray CatbirdThrushesVireos

Swamp milkweed
Asclepias incarnata

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Fruit, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Nuts

Finches, Chickadees & Titmice, Sparrows, Cardinals & Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Orioles, Crows & Jays, Thrushes, Wood Warblers, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Wrens, Vireos, Waxwings

Virginia mountain-mint
Pycnanthemum virginianum

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies, Skippers, Flower Flies, also native bees - honeybees, bumblebees

Sparrows, Orioles, Wood Warblers, Mockingbirds & Thrashers, Vireos, Waxwings

Wild bergamot
Monarda fistulosa

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies (Clear-winged) Moths (Hummingbird moths, and it is host plant for Hermit Sphinx Moth), Bees (long-tongued)

Hummingbirds
Wild blue indigo
Baptisia australis

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Bees

HummingbirdsChickadees (eat the seeds)
Wild columbine
Aquilegia canadensis- columbine

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Nectar, Butterflies, Moths, Caterpillars (Columbine Duskywing Moth - feds exclusively on leaves)

Hummingbirds
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies (Clear-winged) Moths (Hummingbird moths, and it is host plant for Hermit Sphinx Moth), Bees (long-tongued)

CardinalsNorthern FlickerThrushesMockingbirds & ThrashersWaxwings (feed on fruit)

Viburnum cassinoides - Witherod Viburnum
Witherod vibernum
Viburnum cassinoides*

Attributes: Annuals/Per., Butterflies, Moths, Caterpillars, Bees

Eastern Bluebird, Northern Flicker, Gray Catbird, American Robin (feed on fruit)

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