10: Attract Birds to Your Yard with Native Plants

The problem with birdwatching is that, once you start, your only goal in life is to ALWAYS BE AROUND BIRDS. One way you can do that is by beautifying your home with plants that birds freakin’ love. 

We’ll cover plant species that attract specific kinds of birds for various regions in the United States. Don’t worry if you have a black thumb (like Sarah). Most of these plants are low maintenance and native to specific regions. That means low-key gardening and high-reward birding. Make sure to check out the resources listed below to get native plant recommendations for birds near you! 

BIRD SHIT WE DISCUSSED

USEFUL RESOURCES

• NestWatch: get certified to monitor your birdhouses for research!
• YardMap: match birds and plants based on your region
• YardMap also has useful info on native bird-friendly plants by region
• Audubon’s amazing zip-code-specific recommendations for plants that birds love!
• Super specific Bluebird box sizes, dimensions, and recommendations

BIRDS WE MENTIONED (in order)

• Great Lakes Piping Plovers
• Mallard
• Orange-Fronted Parakeet
• Cedar Waxwing
• Northern Cardinal
• Finches
• Orioles
• Hummingbirds
• Brown Thrasher
• Red-Eyed Vireo
• Eastern Bluebird
• European Starlings
• House Sparrows
• Savannah Sparrow

BIRDS IN THE NEWS

• Mamby music festival canceled in Chicago!! YAY piper plovers
• Parakeet back from the brink of extinction thanks to lots of sex

OTHER COOL SH*T

• Sarah’s favorite plant: artificial IKEA wheatgrass in a pot.
• Hilarious “House Hunters” tweets making fun of the insane budgets on the show