The best berries to attract and feed birds in the garden

Planting bushes and berry plants for birds: the benefits

Berries for All Seasons

Creating a bird-friendly garden by incorporating berry bushes is an excellent way to feed them while beautifying your garden. These berries are an essential food source, especially in autumn and winter when insects become scarce. Small birds such as tits, thrushes, and robins rely on them to survive during the cold months.

A Haven for Birds

In addition to providing food, these bushes also offer a natural refuge, allowing birds to nest. Some varieties of bushes with thorny branches, such as the blackthorn or hawthorn, also serve as a natural barrier, protecting small birds from predators.

A Role in Biodiversity

Berry bushes not only provide shelter and food, they also promote biodiversity by attracting various insects during their flowering period. For example, common ivy (Hedera helix), which blooms in late autumn, attracts pollinators before offering its fruits to birds in winter. Some insects even form part of the diet of birds and nestlings, especially during the nesting period.

Two sparrows on a pyracantha bush with red berries

The criteria for choosing the right berry-bearing plants for birds

Choosing Berry Bushes Suitable for Your Garden allows you to feed birds while promoting biodiversity. To achieve this, several criteria need to be considered in order to provide a regular food source and a refuge throughout the year.

Edible and Non-Toxic Berries for Birds

Not all berries are suitable for birds. Some, although decorative, can be toxic to them, such as those of the Lantana or Yew. It is therefore important to favour native plants known to safely feed birds. We will explore the most suitable varieties in the following paragraph, and also be sure to observe the trees and bushes that birds favour during your walks.

Extended Fruit Production Across Seasons

To prevent birds from being left with nothing to eat, especially in autumn and winter, vary the varieties of berry bushes to offer staggered fruiting. For example, the elder tree produces fruits in summer, while holly and firethorn retain their red or yellow berries until the cold season, attracting birds in winter.

Good Adaptation to Climate and Soil

Before planting, it is important to choose bushes adapted to the growing conditions of your garden: soil type, moisture, exposure. For instance, the dogwood is perfect for wet soils, while the mountain ash and blackthorn withstand difficult conditions and cold winds well.

Combining Food and Shelter

Berry bushes can also serve as habitat for small birds. To achieve this, you can mix evergreen plants (holly, privet, etc.) with deciduous species (hawthorn, etc.) and thus create a natural hedge where they will find both food and a safe space. In short: favour diversity.

A Robin in a mountain ash tree

The main berry-bearing plants for birds in the garden

As you may have gathered, to feed the birds throughout the months, **incorporate a diverse selection of berry-bearing plants into your garden suitable for different periods**. Some bear fruit in autumn and winter, providing a valuable food source, while others produce fruits in spring and summer, thus complementing the birds’ diet.

Autumn and Winter Berries: Essential for Bird Survival

• Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia): Highly appreciated by thrushes, blackbirds, and starlings. Its red berries remain available until December, or even longer if not damaged by the cold. This small tree is cold-hardy and tolerant of heavy soils, but beware of drought.
• Holly (Ilex aquifolium): Its red berries are a food source for the birds in your garden. Its evergreen, dark green, shiny, and spiky foliage also provides shelter. It thrives in slightly acidic soils and cool locations.
• Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna, Crataegus laevigata): Its red fruits feed robins, warblers, and tits. In spring, this shrub is covered with small white flowers (or pink, depending on the variety), highly appreciated by pollinators. Plant it in sunny or semi-shaded areas in temperate gardens, not too arid.
• European Spindle (Euonymus europaeus): Its pink and orange berries attract birds and catch the eye. It is also valued for its flamboyant autumn foliage. It is hardy and not very demanding regarding soil type.
• Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus): Its red fruits are enjoyed by small birds. Its beautiful white spring flowering is also appreciated. An easy-to-grow shrub suited for moist to wet soils.
• Common Ivy (Hedera helix): Produces black berries in winter, feeding blackbirds, starlings, and wood pigeons. This climbing plant is easy to grow in partial shade or shade.
• Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea): Its red, yellow, or orange berries are sought after by thrushes and tits. It is very hardy and can be planted in all types of soils.
• Mahonia (Mahonia aquifolium): Its blackish-blue berries in winter attract robins and tits. This evergreen shrub is tolerant of drought and cold.

Spring and Summer Berries: A Valuable Dietary Supplement

Birds do not only feed in winter. Some shrubs bear edible berries from spring to summer:

• Elderberry (Sambucus nigra): Its berries ripen from July and quickly disappear as they are highly coveted. It requires little maintenance and grows easily in all types of soils.
• Canadian Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis): Its red to black berries are enjoyed by blackbirds and starlings. Hardy, it is not demanding regarding soil composition but dislikes excessive heat and drought.
• Bird Cherry (Prunus padus): The small black berries of this tree attract robins and tits. It thrives in slightly moist, even heavy and compact, occasionally waterlogged soils.
• Raspberry and Blackberry (Rubus spp.): These fruit-bearing shrubs provide food for birds in summer. They are very easy to grow in most regions.
• Privet (Ligustrum vulgare): Its small black berries feed blackbirds and starlings. Easy to grow, it even tolerates salt spray and wet soils, but it dislikes drought and extreme heat.
• Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas): blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, warblers… They all love these berries, especially when fully ripe in late summer. It is a shrub that can be grown anywhere, without requirements and diseases.

This list is not exhaustive! Other plants, trees, and shrubs such as apple trees, medlars, fig trees, hawthorns, cherry trees, blackcurrant bushes, blueberry bushes, and even strawberry plants also offer a valuable food source to garden birds if you are willing to share.

Precautions: Holly, European Spindle, Privet, Ivy, Firethorn, and Guelder Rose berries are toxic to humans.

Starlings in a cherry tree

How to integrate these plants into an attractive garden for birds?

Creating a Diverse and Natural Hedge

Dense hedges provide shelter and protection for birds from predators. Opt for a wide variety of bushes and don’t hesitate to mix deciduous and evergreen shrubs.

Even better: choose native bushes (local species, such as rowan, spindle tree, etc.) to recreate a natural habitat suitable for local birds.

Pair Shrubs with Staggered Flowering and Fruiting

As previously mentioned, to offer a varied food supply over several months, plant bushes with berries that fruit in autumn and winter, as well as in spring and summer.

Enhance with Water Points and Nesting Boxes

Birds need water to drink and clean their feathers. Set up a water point (like a small pond or a shallow dish). Regularly change the water to prevent bacteria growth. Also, remember to replace the dish when the water freezes in winter.

You can also install nesting boxes to attract birds and potentially set up a feeder if food becomes scarce in the garden.

A Blackbird eating an ivy berry

Maintenance and Precautions to Preserve Berries and Birds

To ensure that your bird-friendly garden remains a source of food and an effective natural refuge, there are some good practices to follow:

Avoiding pesticides and chemicals

The use of pesticides and weedkillers can be toxic to birds and reduce the quantity of insects they feed on. Therefore, avoid their use in the garden and favour natural methods such as mulching to protect the soil, allowing biodiversity to balance itself.

Avoiding excessive and premature pruning

Some berry bushes bear fruit on the previous year’s wood (such as raspberry bushes), and pruning at the end of winter could significantly reduce berry production. Similarly, spring pruning may disturb the nesting of small birds that settle in dense hedges and bushes.

When and how to prune?

• Wait until the end of winter (from late February to mid-March) to prune certain varieties of bushes. Feel free to search on our website for the ideal pruning period, which you will find in each of our plant profiles.
• Prune after fruiting (in autumn and early winter) for those bearing late berries.
• Avoid pruning between mid-March and mid-August to avoid disturbing nesting and allow young birds to leave their nests.
• Never heavily prune natural hedges (at most one-third of the branches) and prefer a gentle and gradual pruning.

Protecting birds from predators

Birds are particularly vulnerable to predators, especially domestic cats. To limit risks:

• Place feeders and nesting boxes high up, out of reach of attacks.
• Plant thorny bushes, such as hawthorn or blackthorn, which provide a secure refuge.
• Avoid clearing hedge areas too much, as they are natural shelters for small birds.

Leaving fruits in place for as long as possible

Some bushes like the mountain ash, common ivy, or cotoneaster offer berries that remain on the branches for several months. These fruits are often consumed as a last resort by birds, especially during freezing periods or when they soften.