Wild About Nature, November 2000

Each season I watch to see what food and cover are available for the wildlife that use our yard as all or part of their habitat. In our location, our wildlife is mostly birds. My observations and research help me decide what plants to add to the landscape to enhance the resources for any particular season.

Neighbors have been telling me about the bluebirds they attracted during the summer by placing nest boxes for them. Sometimes bluebirds stay in Maine through the winter, huddling together for warmth at night in the nest boxes or tree cavities. Recently I saw one for the first time in our yard. It may be eating the dogwood berries and the elderberries, although those fruits are just about gone.

I have been researching which trees, shrubs and vines have fruits that persist on the plant through the winter, that bluebirds, cardinals, cedar waxwings and other over-wintering species will use. American mountain-ash, common witchhazel, common winterberry, Champlain hawthorn, smooth sumac and staghorn sumac, northern bayberry and common bearberry are all native to Maine and have persistent fruits, as do the native vines Virginia creeper, poison ivy, and American bittersweet. These provide important winter food for wildlife.

The fruits of Eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana, persist on the tree, and are eaten in the fall and winter. Despite its common name, this is a juniper, native in southern Maine and hardy to zone 2. It has an upright habit and in our climate grows to twenty-five to thirty feet tall. The foliage has a nice texture, and although evergreen, it may turn purplish in the winter. It is useful as a visual screen, a windbreak, and because it responds to pruning, it makes an excellent hedge.

This tree species is dioecious, meaning it has male and female flowers borne on separate plants. Male and female plants are needed for pollination and good fruit production on the female plant. Eastern red cedar is available through many local nurseries. The plants sold are from cuttings of plants in the wild and these have been named. You will want to ask the nursery staff whether the selection is male or female.

If you live in the countryside where Eastern redcedar grows in the wild, it is very likely you could get away with buying only female plants, trusting that pollination from males in the vicinity will suffice. If you live in a town where there are few places where vegetation grows wild, you will want to be sure to plant one male no matter how many females are also planted.

The table lists bird species that are resident in Maine year-round, and so are here in the winter to eat the persistent fruit of the Eastern redcedar. They also use its evergreen foliage as protection against our winter weather. Another advantage of this tree in the backyard habitat is that many migrant bird species, coming to Maine to reproduce in the summer season, use it as cover and for nest sites. These include bobwhite, common flicker, mockingbird, gray catbird, brown thrasher, hermit thrush, chipping sparrow, fox sparrow and song sparrow. The many functions and wildlife value throughout the entire year make this native tree a great addition to any habitat. This one is at the top of my spring planting wish list!

Some birds that use Eastern red cedar	Food	Cover	Nesting
Turkey	X	X
Ruffed grouse	X	X
Mourning dove	X	X
Screech owl	X	X
Common crow	X
American robin	X
Eastern bluebird	X	X
Cedar waxwing	X	X	X
Starling	X	X
Cardinal	X	X	X
Evening grosbeak	X	X
Purple finch	X	X
Source: Trees, shrubs and Vines for Attracting Birds, by Richard M. Degraaf and Gretchin M. Witman, University of Massachusetts Press, 1979. [This book is out of print.]

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Eastern Redcedar is a Bird Magnet