Plants for Birds

Northern Mockingbird on Eastern Redbud. Photo: Glenda Simmons/Great Backyard Bird Count

"It's simple: By gardening with native plants, no matter where you live or how small or large your space is, you can help sustain wildlife." - Doug Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home

Your yard -- and the kinds of plants in it -- matters more than you may know. Native plants play a very important role in providing the food birds need to survive and thrive in a way that non-native plants cannot do. 

Going Native
Native plants are those that occur naturally in an area. North Carolina, with its diverse geography, is home to thousands of native plant species! Our natural wildlife - including birds - have adapted to the resources provided by North Carolina's native plant population. These plants and trees are, in a real sense, home for our birds.

Why are native plants important?
In a word: insects... Almost all land birds require insects to feed their young. Even seed-eating birds often must feed their babies insects to ensure their survival. Insects cannot adapt to eating non-native plants. Less native plants means less insects, which in turn means fewer bird babies growing to adulthood. 

We’re Nuts About These Bird-Friendly Native Plants
Bird-Friendly Communities

We’re Nuts About These Bird-Friendly Native Plants

Nuts and seeds are a very important source of fat for birds as they help keep their skin and feathers healthy. Check out these four species from our 2018 Bird-Friendly Native Plants of the Year list!

Read more

Sweeten Up Your Backyard With These Native Nectar Plants
Bird-Friendly Native Plants

Sweeten Up Your Backyard With These Native Nectar Plants

Nectar is a sweet treat that provides essential nutrients for one of our most recognizable backyard birds - the hummingbird! Find the best native nectar-producing plants for birds here.

Read more

These Bird-Friendly Native Plants are Berry Special
Bird-Friendly Native Plants

These Bird-Friendly Native Plants are Berry Special

Berries are so important to birds. Check out these top four types of bountiful berry plants on our 2018 Bird-Friendly Native Plants of the Year list!

Read more

Audubon North Carolina & First Lady Kristin Cooper Build a Bird-Friendly Garden at the Executive Mansion
Bird-Friendly Communities

Audubon North Carolina & First Lady Kristin Cooper Build a Bird-Friendly Garden at the Executive Mansion

Learn how Audubon North Carolina helped establish a bird and pollinator-friendly garden at the Executive Mansion!

Read more

Planting a Mountain Oasis for Birds
Bird-Friendly Communities

Planting a Mountain Oasis for Birds

Outside of Boone, High Country Audubon is reviving the hillsides and riverbanks of a park with native plants.

Read more

A Native Plants Garden That Brings Birds, Pollinators, and Parishioners Together
Bird-Friendly Communities

A Native Plants Garden That Brings Birds, Pollinators, and Parishioners Together

The partnership between Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society and St. Eugene Catholic Church in Asheville, North Carolina, is just one example of the chapter's work in the community.

Read more

Town of Matthews Embraces Native Plants for Birds
Bird-Friendly Native Plants

Town of Matthews Embraces Native Plants for Birds

Municipal leaders vote in favor of more native trees and plants to accompany new development.

Read more

Why Go Native for Birds
Bird-Friendly Native Plants

Why Go Native for Birds

Native plants play a very important role in providing the food birds need to survive and thrive.

Read more

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Latin:  Archilochus colubris

Illustration for Ruby-throated Hummingbird

American Goldfinch

Latin:  Spinus tristis

Illustration for American Goldfinch

Wood Thrush

Latin:  Hylocichla mustelina

Illustration for Wood Thrush

Northern Mockingbird

Latin:  Mimus polyglottos

Illustration for Northern Mockingbird

Learn More About Bird-Friendly Native Plants

Counting Birds with the First Lady
Community Science

Counting Birds with the First Lady

Bird watchers across the state and the globe tallied birds for science over Valentine's Day weekend.

Flocking Together to Restore a Creek for the Birds
Bird-Friendly Communities

Flocking Together to Restore a Creek for the Birds

New Hope Audubon partnered with the community to breathe new life into a Chapel Hill trail.

Four Legislative Wins for the Birds in 2019
News

Four Legislative Wins for the Birds in 2019

From native plants to energy policy, you helped make these 2019 victories possible in Raleigh.

North Carolina Celebrates Native Plants
News

North Carolina Celebrates Native Plants

Gov. Roy Cooper has set aside Oct. 21-27 as Native Plants Week; celebrate by growing more in your yard.

Two years later: The First Lady's Bird-and-Butterfly Garden is Blossoming
Bird-Friendly Communities

Two years later: The First Lady's Bird-and-Butterfly Garden is Blossoming

We checked in with the Executive Mansion garden after Audubon helped plant native vegetation in 2017.

Planting a Mountain Oasis for Birds
Bird-Friendly Communities

Planting a Mountain Oasis for Birds

Outside of Boone, High Country Audubon is reviving the hillsides and riverbanks of a park with native plants.

Town of Matthews Embraces Native Plants for Birds
Bird-Friendly Native Plants

Town of Matthews Embraces Native Plants for Birds

Municipal leaders vote in favor of more native trees and plants to accompany new development.

Building Better Communities for Birds
Bird-Friendly Communities

Building Better Communities for Birds

The Bird-Friendly Communities program was intended to create projects in the places that people live to ensure that birds are always among us.

700 Bird-Friendly Native Plants for North Carolina
Bird-Friendly Native Plants

700 Bird-Friendly Native Plants for North Carolina

Search every North Carolina species that appears in Dr. Larry Mellichamp’s “Native Plants of the Southeast" and all North Carolina Botanical Garden “Wildflower of the Year” plants.

A Native Plants Garden That Brings Birds, Pollinators, and Parishioners Together
Bird-Friendly Communities

A Native Plants Garden That Brings Birds, Pollinators, and Parishioners Together

The partnership between Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society and St. Eugene Catholic Church in Asheville, North Carolina, is just one example of the chapter's work in the community.

How you can help, right now