Another thing to keep in mind is landscape context.  You would want to do different things if your yard is adjacent or proximal to woods than you would want to do in a suburban or agricultural/grassland setting.  I find that looking at the Google Earth photos can help provide quite a bit of landscape context.  

The DEP also has a great book, written by Peter Picone:

Hi Jayne and everyone: Those are some great suggestions for plantings. To put a plug in for some of my favorites that weren't mentioned...magnolias....the fruit ripens just as thrushes and other migrants are moving through. Star magnolia isn't native, but a long history as an ornamental and no signs of invasiveness, Virginia Magnolia is a semi-native alternative. Another thing to keep in mind is landscape context. You would want to do different things if your yard is adjacent or proximal to woods than you would want to do in a suburban or agricultural/grassland setting. I find that looking at the Google Earth photos can help provide quite a bit of landscape context. As others have mentioned, Steve Kress' book is a great reference. It was his first book that inspired me to get involved in conservation. http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4458 A couple of other things to consider: Chemicals...if you are birdscaping, it would benefit things to practice organic or at least semi-organic landscape care practices. At the very least, many birds are insectivores and not drowning your yard in pesticides will allow for more food. Another good resource is Audubon at Home, http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/ http://www.organiclandcare.net/ Cats: As most know, if you have outdoor cats in the neighborhood, it can lead to a dangerous situation for the birds, although birdscaping leaves them less vulnerable than feeders do because the birds would be more spread out and not concentrated along the same place all the time. The CT Audubon Society focuses quite a bit on cats in their latest "State of the Birds Report" http://www.ctaudubon.org/SOTB/2007.html See also: http://www.njaudubon.org/Conservation/CatsIndoors/ Some other great references on this topic: Connecticut's Native Tree and Shrub Availability list: http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/wildlife/pdf_files/habitat/ntvtree.pdf Native landscaping from CT Botanical Society: http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/garden/garden2.html The DEP also has a great book, written by Peter Picone: http://www.depstore.ct.gov/catalog/enhancing_your_backyard_habitat_for_wildlife_5345329.htm The USFWS has some great pamphlets that are available online: http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pamphlet/pamplets.html Backyard bird habitat resources from NRCS: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/ The Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP) from NRCS can provide some funding for larger projects: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/ Likewise, the DEP's Landowner Incentives Program: http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2723&q=325734&depNAV_GID=1655 On what not to plant: http://www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg/ This link was already given, but just so you have them all in one place: http://www.nwf.org/backyard/ Windstar has a backyard habitat program: http://www.windstar.org/ Some other books: http://www.depstore.ct.gov/catalog/native_shrubs_for_landscaping_5345331.htm Landscaping for Wildlife from the Minnesota DNR...a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Landscaping-Wildlife-Carrol-L-Henderson/dp/9999529941 Trees Vines and Shrubs for Attracting Birds: http://www.amazon.com/Trees-Shrubs-Vines-Attracting-Birds/dp/1584652152 Butterfly gardens are one of the best ways to improve bird habitat in your yard because they attract insects of all sorts: http://www.depstore.ct.gov/catalog/butterfly_gardening_in_new_england_5345326.htm CT Butterfly Association is also a great reference for butterfly gardening. http://www.ctbutterfly.org/ Finally, if you can find a copy of this old book, it is great...very hard to find though: "Attracting Birds: From the Prairies to the Atlantic. by Verne E. Davison" Hope this is a help. Patrick Comins, Meriden, CT Patrick M. Comins Director of Bird Conservation Audubon Connecticut pcomins'at'audubon.org http://iba.audubon.org/iba/viewState.do?state=US-CT Bent of the River Sanctuary 185 East Flat Hill Road Southbury, CT 06488 Phone: (203)264-5098 x305 or (203)264-5180 x305 Fax: (203)264-6332 -----Original Message----- From: ctbirds-bounces@lists.ctbirding.org [mailto:ctbirds-bounces@lists.ctbirding.org]On Behalf Of recoverywing@cox.net Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 8:48 AM To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Bird-scaping Hi Alex and All, This is one of my favorite topics! There is so much you can plant to attract and improve your property but I will just share some of what I think are top bird attracting plants. Trees - My top pick - Mulberry, after that Crabapple, make sure the crab you pick has small diameter persistent fruit, Cherry, Eastern Red Cedar, Hawthorne, Dogwood, (native), Serviceberry. Shrubs - My top pick-Double file viburnum, after that all viburnums, evergreen and deciduous holly, Flowering quince, dogwood, sumac. Vines - Honeysuckle (Lonicera), Grape, Virginia creeper, poison ivy( at property edge away from people) One of the best improvements we made to our property was a pond. We dug out an already low wet area, 80x20ft. It can and has dried up in the summer but has attracted a whole new group of birds and frogs! that we did not see before. We also installed a waterfall near bird feeders, very easy, and that has allowed us to see up close many species of warblers each spring and fall. Jayne Amico/Southington www.therecoverywing.org _______________________________________________ This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org

Quite a compilation, Patrick! > Finally, if you can find a copy of this old book, it is > great...very hard to find though: > "Attracting Birds: From the Prairies to the Atlantic. by Verne E. > Davison" Here is a helpful hint when trying to find used or out of print books. I start at AddAll: http://used.addall.com/. Put in the MINIMUM information that should identify the book; I put Davison in the Author space and Attracting Birds in the title space, and nothing more. The results that came back listed 174 matches. Now there are duplicates in that list - I won't go into why, but that is the nature of AddAll - but still even if every real copy appears several times that is a lot of copies. Sorting on price, ascending, more than fifty of them are under $5. (Plus shipping and tax, of course.) Searching on Zeranski (author) and Connecticut Birds (title) returns far fewer than the Davison book, but still several at rather good prices. Good birding! Roy Harvey Beacon Falls, CT