A Swamp Sparrow, happy near water foraging among willows (Salix spp.), has snagged a caterpillar for its nestlings.
“If you are thinking one year ahead, sow seed. If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking 100 years ahead, educate the people.”
—CHINESE PROVERB
“Ordinary people must think carefully about their own surroundings and how to preserve the biodiversity that occurs around them. The world that results will be a patchwork with bright spots, richer places and more beautiful areas. And that will happen because individuals took responsibility and acted.”
—PETER H. RAVEN, President, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
The purpose of this book, of course, is to speak to the matter of native plants that attract and support birds—more specifically, native plants that supply food, shelter, and nest sites and nesting materials. But we’ve consistently noted that satisfactory bird habitat also requires a fourth element: water.
So we really can’t ignore the importance of water and making it available in your birdscape. In addition, certain native plants love wet feet and do well along water’s edge. Others that thrive in water do well in submerged pots buried in customized water features. We’ve included lists of both in this chapter.
It’s perhaps worth mentioning that in my own yard, we’ve tallied birds at our water features that we likely would have never seen otherwise. True, the birds are busy foraging around the yard and garden, but they’re often hidden in the lush vegetation or up too high or down too low to reveal themselves. Everything needs water, however, so we catch sight of them when they’re having a drink or a bath.
So, let’s look at water sources, either natural or of your own making.
Step 4: Add water.
If we all enjoyed the ideal habitat, we would live on property boasting natural waters—a pond, lake, river, creek, wetland, or spring. In reality, however, most of us don’t have natural waters on or even near our yards. That means we must figure out other means by which to provide water—the singularly important fourth element essential in bird habitat. We’ll begin this chapter, however, talking about yards with natural waters and how to take advantage of this unique situation to add further biodiversity to the yard.
If you live where natural water is part of your habitat, your birds are happy. But maybe you can make them even happier. Assuming the water’s banks are natural (as opposed to sterile riprap, retaining wall, or other inorganic barrier), birds find all the drinking and bathing resources necessary. They enjoy waterfront sites as much as we do. Think about what might happen, however, if you enhanced the water’s edges with native plants, encouraging birds not just to make quick visits but to hang out, enjoying the protection as well as a quick lunch or even a lingeringly long, fine dinner.
Even though we’ve included most of these plants in earlier tables, they work especially well where they can enjoy wet feet. Additional species, specific to this list, are marked with an asterisk (*). Since these are abbreviated tables, see full details for each species in corresponding chapters for trees, shrubs, and perennials.
Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), sometimes called blue cardinal flower, grows happily in wet places, even in standing water.
So here’s the deal: If you live on waterfront property, you’ll want to give thought to plants that enhance the border where water meets land—shoreline, river bank, or creek bank. Having made those choices, based on the shoreline length, add them to your plant list and yard map. While you may choose to tackle the shoreline or river or creek bank as a separate project, you’ll want the project to be part of the master plan. Update your yard map accordingly.
Plants for Water’s Edge
| COMMON NAME | SCIENTIFIC NAME | COMMENTS | NATIVE, PLANTING ZONES |
| TREES: DECIDUOUS | |||
| Swamp white oak | Quercus bicolor | To 70' tall, 60' spread; tolerates wet; needs acidic soil; lacks taproot | Eastern US except GA and FL Zones 3-8 |
| Black willow | Salix nigra | Largest native willow, 30-60’ tall, 30-60’ spread; fast-growing; easily rooted from cuttings | Eastern US Zones 4-9 |
| Boxelder | Acer negundo | 30-50’ tall, 30-50’ spread; mainly in moist soils, along streams and pond margins | Eastern US Zones 2-10 |
| Southern bald cypress and variety pond cypress | Taxodium distichum and T. distichum var. impricarium | 50-75’ tall, 20-45’ spread; a plant of wetlands but grows most anywhere; attractive shape, ferny foliage | Eastern US except MN, IA, WI, and east of NY Zones 4-9 |
| TREES: EVERGREEN | |||
| White spruce | Picea glauca | 40-60’ tall, 10-20’ spread; smallest cones of spruces; common, widespread in muskegs and bogs | MD, DE, NJ, and PA north through ME; also MI, WI, and MN Zones 2-6 |
| Atlantic white cedar | Chamaecyparis thyoides | Columnar, 30-50’ tall, 30-40’ spread; common in swamps and bogs, along streams | All coastal states from ME through LA Zones 4-8 |
| Northern white cedar synonymous with American arborvitae | Thuja occidentalis | 20-40’ tall, 10-15’ spread; native in swamps, along waterways; commonly cultivated | Eastern US except FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, AR, and MO Zones 2-7 |
| Sweetbay magnolia synonymous with laurel magnolia | Magnolia virginiana | 10-35’ tall, 10-35’ spread; shrubby and deciduous north but treelike and evergreen south; common in wet soils | Gulf and Atlantic coastal states except CT, RI, and ME Zones 5-10 |
| SHRUBS | |||
| Alder | Alnus spp. | 15-20’ tall, 15-25’ spread; naturalizes; native to boggy grounds, cool climate | North of Ohio River Zones 2-6; does not thrive south of zone 6 |
| American pussy willow | Salix discolor | 6-15’ tall, 4-12’ spread; may be cut to ground every 3-5 years to maintain smaller size | Eastern US except TN, FL, SC, GA, AL, LA, and AR Zones 4-8 |
| Silky willow | Salix sericea | 6’ tall, forms clumps; native to marshes, ditches, low woods | Eastern US except LA, MS, and FL Zones 2-8 |
| Silky dogwood synonymous with swamp dogwood | Cornus amomum | 6-12’ tall; 6-12’ spread; likes acidic soil; can form thickets; naturalized areas, stream banks, erosion control | Eastern US except LA, AR, MN, and WI Zones 5-8 |
| PERENNIALS (see also “Aquatic Plants for submerged Pots” on page 189) |
|||
| *Arrowhead, broadleaf | Sagittaria latfolia | 1-4’ tall, 1-3’ spread; grows in water up to 1’ deep or in mud at water's edge; full sun; white flower July-Sept; deadhead if don't want plant to self-seed; commonly used in pond restoration; seeds attractive to birds, tubers attractive to waterfowl | Most of US Zones 5-10 |
| Cardinal flower | Lobelia cardinalis | 2-4’ tall, 1-2’ spread; short-lived; thrives in standing water; blooms July-Aug | Eastern US Zones 3-9 |
| Great blue lobelia synonymous with blue cardinal flower | Lobelia siphilitica | 2-3’ tall, 1-1.5’ spread; blooms July-Sept; good color for late perennial garden, effective along water | Eastern US except FL Zones 4-9 |
| *Milkweed, aquatic | Asclepias perennis | 2-3’ tall, 1-1.5’ spread; full sun; white flowers May-Aug; value to bees, butterflies; grows in shallow water; considered poisonous if ingested | Southern coastal states plus AR, MO, TN, KY, IN, and IL Zones 6-9 |
| Crimsoneyed rosemallow | Hibiscus moscheutos | 3-7’ tall, 2-3’ spread; full sun; showy flowers July-Sept to 8" diameter | Eastern US except NH, VT, ME, and AR Zones 5-9 |
| Rose mallow | Hibiscus lasiocarpos | 3-7’ tall, 2-3’ spread; tolerates heat and humidity but needs moisture; blooms July-Oct | Southern US Zones 5-9 |
Of course, if you’re fortunate enough to have a pond, lake, stream, spring, or other natural water source on your property or even nearby, adding water via some other feature probably isn’t all that important. Still, I’m betting you may enjoy your avian visitors within your window view, arriving for a drink or a bath.
When you completed your yard map in Chapter 4, if you marked space for some sort of water source, you likely had in mind either a birdbath or more elaborate water feature. Before you take action, spending hard-earned dollars for water-source hardscape, consider the following guiding principles.
The simplest and most common approach for providing water, of course, is to place a birdbath strategically in your landscaping. Birdbaths can be elegant or rustic, elaborate or simple, useful or awkward, ground level or pedestal high, swinging or stationary, slippery or rough, easily cleaned or not, with or without a fountain. When it comes to birdbaths, it’s never the price that speaks to the quality—at least not from the birds’ point of view. They really don’t mind bathing in a puddle in the street.
Ten American Robins enjoy a drink at an icy ground-level water feature. The shadow of an 11th bird suggests more on the way!
Everything comes with strings attached, however, and birdbaths are no exception. They come with two important obligations—to keep them clean and fresh and to maintain them year-round.
So here are some thoughts:
Consider: Birds are accustomed to finding and availing themselves of water at ground level. After all, have you ever seen a natural water source 4 feet off the ground? So consider a birdbath that will sit solidly on the ground. Of course, even if your chosen birdbath comes paired with a pedestal, nothing says you must use the pedestal!
Consider: Birds need shallow water. Think about how small most songbirds really are. Their legs, for instance, generally measure no more than an inch long, so water 3 inches deep equates to a neck-deep bathtub—useless to little birds.
Consider: A birdbath with a combination of sloping sides and a rough surface lets birds step down securely to water’s edge, check the level, and then drink or bathe in comfort.
Consider: Choose a birdbath that can be easily cleaned. A stiff wire brush works well, and I scrub mostly once a week but up that to every day in summer. It’s the only safe way to keep birdbaths free of algae and other unhealthy yucky stuff. On the very rare occasion that birdbaths become severely soiled, consider using one part bleach to nine parts water to scrub. Be sure, however, to rinse, rinse, rinse to eliminate every minute particle of bleach. It’s deadly to birds. I’d rather scrub with clear water and a little elbow grease—a combination guaranteed safe for birds.
Consider: Birds need water year-round, both for drinking and for bathing. Thus, you should take into consideration how you will keep your birdbath waters in liquid form all four seasons. In winter, it’s true that they can eat snow, but warming snow to body temperature takes 12 times more energy than warming water to body temperature—a heavy toll in already severe conditions. So keeping birdbaths ice-free serves birds well. If you shop for a birdbath heater, look for one appropriate for the volume of water. For safety’s sake, always plug any outdoor electrical item into a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet.
WARNING: Never, ever add antifreeze or salt to your water feature; you’ll poison the birds.
Consider: During mosquito breeding season, scrubbing birdbaths every day is a must—without fail. If mosquitoes find a way to reproduce in your birdbath, you may promote more than just mosquitoes; you and yours may face West Nile virus, Zika, or perhaps other mosquito-borne illnesses. (And in some communities, you’ll face a hefty fine.)
Moving water in a birdbath creates three distinct advantages—for you and the birds:
1. Moving water prevents mosquitoes from breeding. They breed only in still water. Electrical and solar-powered pumps do the trick.
2. Moving water deters, or at least delays, freeze-ups—depending on the size of your reservoir, size of the pump, and severity of the cold.
3. Whether it’s dripping, bubbling, or running, your proffered moving water attracts even distant birds by its attention-getting sound.
WARNING: Adding some sort of insecticidal mosquito control to your water feature is not an option, as you’d be offering toxic drinks and baths to your birds, making your water feature deadly.
So decide on some means by which to keep water in your birdbath moving—maybe a drip-per, a mister, a bubbler, or a recirculating pump—all readily available online and where birdbaths are sold. For safety’s sake, always plug any outdoor electrical item into a GFCI outlet.
Water features have become popular with homeowners, but not all are designed to attract birds. They differ as much as homeowners themselves—some elaborate, sprawling, and dramatic; others simple, compact, and subtle. Some take up a large portion of the yard, while others nearly hide in the shrubbery.
If you choose to install a water feature, remember this requirement: Birds need shallow water. Think of “shallow” as a slope from zero to no more than 1 inch. I’ve enjoyed visiting dozens of water features that display quite a “wow” factor, but birds would find them unusable: There was no slope and no shallow water. So build a water feature to suit yourself, and enjoy the deep, plunging waterfalls and cavernous pools sufficient to house fish year-round. If, however, you want the water feature to also attract birds, make sure that within the drama there are abundant places where slope and shallow come together. Do it for the birds!
In summertime’s typically oppressive heat, water draws a crowd. But nobody—especially not birds—likes yucky algae in a water feature. Three factors contribute to algae growth: sunlight, nutrients, and low oxygen.
WARNING: Never use an algaecide in your birdbath. You’ll expose birds to potential toxins.
In fact, it’s a simple matter to naturally control algae growth. Once again, plants come to the rescue. Here’s how:
Yellow marsh marigold (Caltha paulstris) works well as an aquatic plant in home water features.
Broadleaf arrowhead (Sagittaria latfolia), a wetland plant, attracts birds to the seed heads that form after the pure white blossoms drop.
Here’s another opportunity to invite monarchs to the yard with this aquatic milkweed (Asclepais perennis) that grows in very moist soil, even standing water.
1. Use plants in and around the water to add shade, reducing algae’s source of sunlight.
2. Add hardy water plants that zap significant nutrients from the water, thus starving out algae.
3. Add oxygen by adding plants that render the water too oxygen-rich for algae.
So, added plants will reduce algae and add a lovely, natural, graceful touch to a man-made water feature. Which plants work under these conditions? Consider natives like those in the table on page 189.
Our yard includes two standard birdbaths, each less than an inch deep, one placed directly on the ground. We also maintain a little water feature with a mini waterfall and small pool, planted with native cover adored by lots of happy little fish. Within the three distinct parts of the water feature, one riffles along as a mini “creek,” offering ample shallow slopes and shallow water for drinking and bathing birds. But our homemade bubbling rock sees the real action, primarily, we think, because of its welcoming sound. We never know which birds will show up next. Already we’ve documented more than 80 species drinking and/or bathing there.
A male Scarlet Tanager takes a quick bath in water less than an inch deep, flowing smoothly across rock in a small water feature. The out-of-focus foreground plant is marsh marigold (Caltha paulstris).
Okay, so what’s this bubbling rock? It’s a large stone with a hole bored through it that’s set over a reservoir with a pump creating a recirculating water flow that, in our yard, birds can’t resist. Ours is a homemade job, highly cost effective Hummingbirds hover to drink from the edge, bluebirds jostle with goldfinches for position near the “bubble,” robins arrive in families to sip and splash, and juncos bathe in leisure, freshening up after their travels. The hubbub sometimes gives me a chuckle as I watch the little guys vying for a drink or a bath, lining up in pecking order to await their turns, or sometimes pushing their faces into the bubble.
Aquatic Plants for Submerged Pots
| COMMON NAME | SCIENTIFIC NAME | COMMENTS | NATIVE, PLANTING ZONE |
| Broadleaf arrowhead | Sagittaria latfolia | 1-4’ tall, 1-3’ spread; full sun; white flowers July-Sept; to prevent spreading, gather seeds | Most of US Zones 5-10 |
| Water iris synonymous with southern blue flag | Iris virginica | 1-3’ tall, 1-3’ spread; full sun; violet-blue flowers in June; ranked tried and trouble-free | Eastern US except ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, NJ, DE, and PA Zones 5-9 |
| Yellow marsh marigold | Caltha palustris | 1-1.5’ tall, 1-1.5’ spread; full sun, part shade; yellow flowers Apr-June; spreads by rhizomes; ranked tried and trouble-free | NC, TN, MO, and all states north of these Zones 3-7 |
| Aquatic milkweed | Asclepias perennis | 1-3’ tall, 1-1.5’ spread; part sun, part shade; white flowers throughout summer | IN, IL, MO, KY, TN, and all states south of these Zones 6-9 |
| Pickerelweed | Pontedaria cordata | 2-4’ tall, 1.5-2’ spread; full sun; soft blue flowers June-Oct; grow plants in containers to avoid spread | Eastern US Zones 3-10 |
| Swamp rosemallow | Hibiscus grandiflorus | 6-10’ tall, 2-4’ spread; full sun to part shade; pale pink blossoms in late spring, early summer | FL, GA, AL, MS, and LA Zones 8-10 |
| Sweetflag | Acorus americanus | 2-3’ tall, 1’ spread; full sun to part shade; wheat-colored blossoms May-July; rhizomes medicinal | IA, IL, IN, OH, PA, and states north of these Zones 3—6 |
Consider making your own bubbling rock or having one made. The required tools are minimal, the work not too intensive, and the supplies readily available. Choosing the perfect rock always turns out to be the toughest challenge. It should have texture. It must be light enough to pick up and move (for cleaning purposes). And it needs to fit the landscape. We’ve even stacked our “perfect” rock on top of others in order to elevate the water’s fall, thus creating more of that attention-getting sound to entice the birds.
Our bubbling rock bubbles year-round, thanks to a thermostatically controlled submersible heater, available where pet or livestock supplies are sold. For safety, both the heater and the recirculating pump are plugged into a GFCI outlet.
A fall migrating Red-breasted Nuthatch (top) and Nashville Warbler stop at a bubbling rock for a drink. The sound of moving water draws birds in like a magnet.
The following diagram provides the essential elements for an in-ground bubbling-rock water feature. The folks we know who have built their own—and there have been many—have modified details to suit their own vision of the ideal bubbling rock, one most appropriate for their own locations. The results have been delightful, attracting birds they never expected to see. It’s an idea worth considering for birdscaping your own yard.
Based on whatever you plan to do about water sources, update your yard map now. Add the locations and label waterfront plantings. Make sure you’re satisfied with the location of an added birdbath or—more significantly—an added water feature. Decide if already-existing vegetation or planned additions will serve birds well, neither concealing predators while birds drink or bathe nor leaving them stranded without sufficient protection close by. Plant—or replant—as necessary.
Your yard map is complete. You’re ready to plant, serving the birds a buffet they’ll enjoy for years to come. Let’s get planted! Step 5 is just ahead.
