Winter Fruit for Birds

Red-bellied woodpecker and marlberry (Ardisia escallonoides). Photo by Christina Evans by permission

As I've written previously, my developing landscape includes mostly deciduous trees and shrubs for birds. The flowers produced by these plants are significant for pollinators, a few serve as host plants, and nearly every one of them produces fruit for birds. Birds need invertebrates to raise their young, but a great many of them also rely on seeds and small fruit. Even insect-eating birds, like woodpeckers, will use fruit at certain times of the year. The high energy of invertebrates is required for the growth of nestlings, but fruit is an integral part of most adult birds' adult diets. That is especially true at times of the year when invertebrates are especially hard to find.
Most invertebrates, even here in central Florida where I reside, are dormant in the winter. Some can be found under the bark of "shaggy" barked trees and beneath leaf litter, but fruit is easier to access. Nearly every bird that visits my yard in the winter is more than willing to feast on fruit. That means that my landscape has to have it ready for them.
Many plants produce fruit in the late summer and fall, but many of those also drop to the ground if it is not consumed before winter. Plants like beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) produce copious amounts of bird food, but it generally doesn't last long on the plant. I just don't have room for beautyberry as good a wildlife plant as it is. I've designed my landscape with other species.

Littlehip haw (Crataegus spathulata)

Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)

What I like best are plants that hold their fruit well into winter. The fruit also has to be small enough for even the smallest songbirds that might visit. I love haws (Crataegus spp.) for the beauty they provide, but the best wildlife ones are littlehip and parsley haw (C. spathulata and C. marshallii) because their fruit are tiny, bright red, and remain on the trees until spring if they are not eaten. Hollies, like the yaupon (I. vomitoria) in the above photo are also excellent. I find that the fruit of hollies are rarely eaten right away, but always disappear before spring. Robins and cedar waxwings seem to especially relish them - often feasting heavily just prior to spring migration. I fantasize that holly fruit is not particularly tasty to these birds or it would be eaten sooner. It must be vital, however, as flocks of these birds seem to return year after year - seemingly using their memories about where to find it.

American holly (Ilex opaca)

Trees and shrubs to use in a living landscape, requires us to consider birds during the winter and that consideration has to include small fruit. Pollinators love these plants during their spring blooming season as well. A pollinator garden is not equivalent to a wildflower meadow. Many of the wildflowers I've added to my "meadow" in the front yard are not in bloom in the very early spring, though I've added a few. What sustains my pollinators are the blooming trees and shrubs. They, of course, are not created equal. Some are virtual magnets. Hollies, haws and other members of the rose family, viburnums, and privets (Forestiera spp.) are especially good.
Design a living landscape for all of the life dependent on you. To do that, choose plants for their ecological contribution. Diversity is the most significant thing you can do. Ignore adding species that are in your next-door neighbors' yards as they are already present. Choose something else. That might mean looking around a bit for just the right plant, but I think that's worth it in the long run. Your wildlife will also.

Florida privet (Forestiera segregata) is a pollinator magnet in the very early spring and its fruit are ready in late spring when very few other fruiting trees and shrubs have ripe fruit for the birds.