Photography friendly trees/shrubs

[gmillerf]

I'd like to plant some trees or shrubs near my feeders to allow birds to perch before heading to the feeder and would like recommendations on what to plant.

What I've been doing is just placing a small branch attached to a tripod, but I don't have a descent source of branches (only two small trees in my yard) and they whither rather quickly. Not to mention most of them tend to skip it altogether.

So what I'd like to find are small trees that top out about 6' or so, and have plenty of space so see through. I'm hoping others have already done this and already know of some.

[tonylong]

I don't have experience with all that, but there was an active thread a while back on bird feeders that you may find informative and maybe helpful:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/....php?t=1142826

[cfcRebel]

Originally Posted by gmillerf

I'd like to plant some trees or shrubs near my feeders to allow birds to perch before heading to the feeder and would like recommendations on what to plant.

What I've been doing is just placing a small branch attached to a tripod, but I don't have a descent source of branches (only two small trees in my yard) and they whither rather quickly. Not to mention most of them tend to skip it altogether.

So what I'd like to find are small trees that top out about 6' or so, and have plenty of space so see through. I'm hoping others have already done this and already know of some.

Hi there,

When planning on planting some trees and shrubs, the best is to get the native plant species to your area. You could check with the local plant nursery to see which kind of native plants could bare fruits or seeds that the birds like. Also, add some water source would effectively attract birds too. Good luck.

[NebrGuy]

Do you know what zone you are in? If not, where are you located? I agree with cfcRebel's suggestion on native plants, there may be some great natural options for you. That said, there are others that may provide you with some options that a native plant might not offer.

[gmillerf]

I'm in Southern Indiana (near Louisville, KY). I've already got plenty of birds coming, so I don't really need the trees to attract them. I'm mostly just interested in something I can photograph them perching on before they hop down to the feeder.

[Hardrock40]

Put youself out a platform feeder and a post close to it, then attach any perch you want. Like old limbs driftwood or anything.

I just put a platform feeder out in the edge of the woods and they always land on the limbs that hang around it before going for the food.

[NebrGuy]

For something interesting in the winter, I would suggest a red-twigged dogwood. Some might consider it to be over-used. If you have the space a tree-type of dogwood has interesting structure and is fairly open to view birds in. They aren't huge trees, but certainly are larger than the shrub types.

I know you said you want this more for perching than for food, but if space is available I also like the idea of a hawthorn. It has a fruit on it that can attract birds and the fruit provides additional color to the landscape.

Actually Bird & Bloom has some great suggestions and if space is available you really can't go wrong with any of their suggestions. http://www.birdsandblooms.com/Garden...ries-for-Birds, though the crabapple and cherry could potentially leave you with a mess as the fruit fall to the ground. Bothers some people and not others. Another suggestion they have is pyracantha (firethorn) which also has some interesting character to it.

Remember that a lot of these have been bred into varieties that are slower growing and more compact for the landscape. So find something that is interesting and then check out your local nursery to see if they have it as a dwarf variety if necessary.