Gardening Answers Knowledgebase

According to the Hummingbird Society, hummingbirds primarily eat nectar from flowers. They also eat small insects and spiders as sources of protein. For more information on their needs, see the website of the Hummingbird Society.

The City of Bellingham has a helpful guide to attracting hummingbirds which includes a list of plants which are nectar sources. Rainyside Gardeners also has a list of nectar plants for hummingbirds in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University Extension's "Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden" by J. Olson and N. Allen is also a good starting point.

The Miller Library has many books about creating a hummingbird garden, including a book published by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that provides lists and descriptions of plants that attract hummingbirds, arranged by geographic region (Hummingbird Gardens, 2000, edited by Stephen W. Kress).

Season All Season
Date 2007-12-13
Link to this record only (permalink)

This is a more difficult question than one might imagine. According to Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, "almost 300 species of birds are native to the Pacific Northwest. Many of them could call your yard home for at least part of the year, depending on what you provide for them. So it depends on what species of birds you want to attract and what environments they need."
Source: Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, by Russell Link (University of Washington Press, 1999, p. 48).
There is a lot of good advice on planning your garden with birds (and other creatures) in mind.

Washington Native Plant Society has a resource page devoted to native plants for wildlife.

The Miller Library has a booklist featuring titles on attracting wildlife to the garden: Information Resources for Gardening with Wildlife.

Valerie Easton, a local garden writer, mentioned several bird-attracting plants when she reviewed a Bellevue wildlife garden. Her article can be found at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2003/0504/living.html

Another good source for this information is Native Plants of the Northwest, by Wallace W. Hansen. Scroll down to Wallys Wildlife Habitat Recommendations.
Following is an annotated list of plants that attract birds for western Washington: the oaks, chinquapin, Oregon myrtle, western hazelnut, cascara, and all trees in the Rose family (hawthorn, bitter cherry, chokecherry and Pacific crabapple). Native shrubs include: serviceberry, salal, all Oregon grapes, Indian plum, bittercherry, roses, blackcap, thimbleberry, salmonberry, Pacific blackberry, red and blue elderberries, russet buffaloberry, mountain ash, snowberry, and all huckleberries.

Seattle Audubon's book and online resource, Audubon at Home in Seattle: Gardening for Life has a chapter on designing a garden to attract birds, and it includes a plant list.

Season All Season
Date 2008-01-24
Link to this record only (permalink)