Last Updated on January 11, 2022 by Real Men Sow
Even a small backyard can offer birds a variety of natural food sources all year. This is especially important in autumn, when temperatures drop and food becomes scarcer. If you are looking for some great plants for birds to keep these beautiful animals around then keep reading!
Top 10 Plants For Birds in the UK
Rowan
Rowan will bear berries depending on the species you choose. Planting crab apples will also attract starlings and blackbirds.
Hawthorn
Shiny clusters of haws are able to stay on hawthorn trees through February or March. They are the favorite berry of redwings, blackbirds, and fieldfares, and they are also enjoyed by many other species, such as chaffinches and starlings. The caterpillars of many moth species eat the leaves, which provide food for young birds in spring.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle, being a climber, is great for tight spaces. It provides shelter and berries for birds like bullfinches, warblers, and thrushes in autumn. Its scented flowers attract butterflies and provide food for many birds in summer.
Cotoneaster
From autumn, the small red berries that grow on the branches of this shrub can be found throughout the year. The berries of this shrub are very popular with garden birds like blackbirds, thrushes, and waxwings. They are often the first to go.
Sunflower
To make large seed heads, remove the old flowers from this sun-loving annual. The many sunflower seeds are tightly packed in the center and provide oil-rich nourishment for finches, long-tailed tail tits, nuthatches, and other seed-eating birds throughout autumn. Sunflowers also can be grown in pots if you have a small garden.
Guelder rose
Viburnum opulus is a native deciduous shrub that bears large clusters of shiny berries from November to March. These berries are especially loved by bullfinches and mistle thrushes. This makes a great hedge plant.
Holly
Even though holly berries can be ripe in autumn, birds like song thrushes and blackbirds, fieldfares, redwings and fieldfares don’t usually eat them until the end of winter. To ensure that berries are produced by only female plants, there must be at least one male near to them.
Ivy
Autumn’s ivy flowers attract insects which then provide food for robins, wrens, and starlings. Black berries are eaten by all kinds of birds, including starlings, jays, thrushes and waxwings. The leaves are food for the caterpillars of holly-blue butterflies, and nesting and roosting shelters for birds.
Shrub rose
Rosa rugosa, a hedging rose, produces some of the largest rose hips. These are eaten by fieldfares, blackbirds and mistle thrushes. Rosa canina’s smaller hips, which are edible by a greater variety of birds, stay fresh until the end of winter.
Teasel
This architectural plant is a stronghold in naturalistic gardening. Teasels produce striking seed heads in the early autumn. These can last up to December depending on the weather. The seed heads are a favorite food source for buntings, sparrows, and goldfinches.
