Wildflower Gardening For Birds

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Wildflower Gardening For Birds

• Thomas G. Barnes, Ph.D.
• Extension Professor
• Department of Forestry

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If you build it, they will come
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The Key is to Create Wildlife Habitat
Food Water Cover Space
American Goldfinch love sunflower seeds (common
weedy sunflower) but love other species like
coreopsis, purple coneflowers, and black-eyed
Susan even more!!!!!
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Is Turf Good Wildlife Habitat?

• Yes No
• Yes starlings, robins
• No Songbirds butterflies

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The Single Most Important Factor in Creating
Habitat

• Reduce the amount of lawn

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Think Ecologically!Create Healthy Environment

• Batty about bugs
• Birds other predator food supply!

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The Turf Wars

• Gas mower (1 hr)
• 63 g VOC
• 858 g CO
• 4.2 g NO x
• 67.2 g Smog
• .43 g particulate
• 1990 g CO2

• New Car /mi driven
• .09 g VOC
• 4.20 g CO
• .3 g NO x
• .39 g Smog
• .08 g particulate

Source EPA Note string trimmers even worse than
mowers
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Once You Reduce LawnWhats NEXT?????

• Diversity of Plant Material
• Most Bang for the Buck
• Flowers
• Flowering (fruit) Shrubs

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Wildflowers

• Those that provide seeds
• Those that provide nectar (hummingbirds)
• Those that attract insects

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Native Grasses

• Widely underused
• Provide excellent winter color in landscape
• Birds butterflies use food or cover

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What Type of Plants??

• Why Native of Course!
• Wildlife Are Adapted to Using Them
• Naturally Hardy
• Incredible Diversity Beauty
• Meet Any Challenging Gardening Situation

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Spring - Hummingbirds
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Late-Spring - Hummingbirds
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Early -summer Hummingbirds
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Early -summer Hummingbirds
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Summer Hummingbird Flowers
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Summer Hummingbird Flowers
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Summer Hummingbird Flowers
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Summer Hummingbird Flowers
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Late- Summer Hummingbird Flowers
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Hummingbird Vines Shrubs

• Trumpet Creeper
• Cross-vine
• Trumpet Honeysuckle
• Azaleas
• Rhododendrons
• New Jersey Tea

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The Seed Producers

• The Best of the Best Sunflowers Silphiums

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The Seed Producers

• The Best of the Best Sunflowers Silphiums

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The Seed Producers

• The Best of the Best and Now The Rest

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The Seed Producers

• The Best of the Best and Now The Rest

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The Seed Producers

• The Best of the Best and Now The Rest

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The Insect Attractors
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The Insect Attractors
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The Best Most Consistent Attractor

• Seeds

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Remember

• Create a healthy environment
• We are asked to be good stewards of our
  environment, including our yards