Video | Want More Birds in your Backyard? Plant These Native Trees.

Today we'll be talking about how trees support bird habitats.

Hi, I'm Helen Yoest with Bee Better Naturally. We teach homeowners how to build better backyards for birds bees and butterflies, and we do this naturally through sustainable gardening.

When suburbia first started, we were looking for the perfect residential tree for our lots. Most of these trees were not native, and the reason is that native trees support our native insects.

One of the best things that you can do in your home resident lot is to plant native trees. They support more species of caterpillars for the moths and butterflies than any other trees. Three of the highest species of trees that support bird habitats are the oak, willows, and cherries. They're not all suited for small residential lots. By all means, if you have a half-acre or more, then the oak tree would be a fabulous addition to your garden and will support over five hundred and seventeen different caterpillars to feed your nesting birds. For the willows and the cherries, they're smaller in statute, and they will fit better in a small residential lot.

For any wildlife habitat, we need food, cover, water, and a place to raise their young, and the more you can condense that in one tree, the more likely you're going to have bird support that tree.

So it's a matter of redefining what beautiful is. Beautiful is holes in your trees because it's sustaining a wildlife habitat. Without any holes in your leaves, you're not supporting a wildlife habitat. You're just providing something that's beautiful to look at like a couch in your living room. Whereas you really want something that's going to be food for the wildlife and particularly our birds.

If you want birds in your garden, you need to have our native trees. A great example is a tent caterpillar. They favor cherry trees, and while you may look at it and think this is not something I want in my garden. It is when you think that it's feeding our baby birds.

So instead of spraying for the next pest, let nature come in balance and let the birds eat the insects.