Overview

Native Plants for Birds

A native plant is one that occurs naturally in the region in which it is located. Owing to this long-term relationship with a geography, native plants are the foundation upon which healthy ecosystems depend. Native plants have co-evolved complex relationships with native birds, insects, and wildlife, and removing these native plants severs critical ecological connections and webs. 

Replacing native plants with exotic plants from other continents or regions disrupts this fragile web of connections, as many of our native insects cannot forage on these exotics. Moreover, many exotic plants can become invasive pests, competing with native plants and further harming our ecosystems. While physical destruction of habitat is an enormous issue, most people don’t realize that many of our preserved green spaces do not support the wildlife that depend on them due to exotic plant invasion.

Over the last 100 years urban sprawl has transformed 150 million acres of farmland and native wildlife habitat across the United States into buildings, hardscape, and 40 million acres of highly manicured lawns. Filled with exotic plants, these urban landscapes no longer support the healthy, functioning ecosystems that birds and wildlife need. As our urban areas continue to grow, the natural areas that remain will not be large enough to support our bird populations. We can attempt to counteract this issue by simply choosing native plant species for our backyards instead of exotics.