Want to See Your State Bird in Your Yard? Plant These Native Favorites

If you know your state bird (and I suspect you do), then I bet you've wondered what you can plant to make your state's official bird feel more at home in your yard?

Whether your state bird is a bright red northern cardinal, a cheeky Carolina wren or the rather more unusual cactus wren, the right plants can provide one of the three most important things that all birds need: food, shelter, and somewhere to nest or shelter.

And guess what? You don't need a big backyard to make a bird sanctuary; the trick is choosing plants that work with the bird you're hoping to see. While some state birds will happily feast on berries and seeds, others are more interested in the insects living among native trees and shrubs, and a few... well, a few are, admittedly, are rather harder to tempt into an ordinary garden.

What To Plant For Your State Bird

You know your birth month bird, but do you know your state bird? And, more importantly, do you know how to attract them?

To help you out, scroll down, find your state and see which plants could help make your yard more inviting to its official feathered resident. (Just remember that several states share the same official bird, so look for the information in bold)

Northern Flicker

Alabama

Alabama's state bird is the northern flicker (also known as the yellowhammer), and, unlike many seed-eating backyard birds, these beauties spend plenty of time foraging on the ground for ants and other insects, so a bird-friendly garden doesn't need to be all about bird feeders.

Native trees such as oak, hackberry and serviceberry can help create the kind of habitat flickers use, while leaving some natural leaf litter and mature trees in place can provide additional foraging opportunities.

Willow Ptarmigan

Alaska

The Willow Ptarmigan is Alaska's official state bird, which means it is rather different from the backyard songbirds on this list. In fact, it is closely associated with tundra, shrublands and willow habitats, so the best way to support it is to think about native habitat rather than ornamental garden plants.

Native willows and birch, along with naturally occurring berry-producing shrubs (something like black chokeberry works beautifully), can provide food and cover where they are appropriate to the local landscape.

Cactus Wren

Arizona

If Arizona's cactus wren is your state bird, your garden doesn't need to look like a traditional flower border; in fact, native cacti and desert shrubs can provide shelter, nesting opportunities and food, making them far more useful than thirsty ornamental plants. Prickly pear is particularly valuable in the Southwest, with some species producing fruit that birds eat.

The trick is to work with the desert habitat you already have rather than trying to recreate an eastern-style garden (and, as an added bonus, native plants adapted to Arizona's conditions can provide food and cover while using considerably less water).

Try something like the organ plant cactus if you want a true statement plant.

Northern Mockingbird

Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas

Five states have chosen the Northern Mockingbird as their official bird, making it one of the most widely shared state birds in the country.

One of the easiest ways to make your yard more appealing to mockingbirds is to provide native berry-producing shrubs.

American beautyberry is an excellent choice in appropriate parts of the South, while other native fruiting shrubs can provide food at different times of year. Mockingbirds also eat insects, so a diverse planting that supports insect life is more useful than a garden that has been scrubbed completely clean.

California Quail

California

California's state bird is the California quail, and these ground-dwelling birds spend a lot of their time foraging and nesting on or near the ground (flying? Not so much their scene), so dense, low-growing habitat is particularly useful.

Try combining ornamental grasses with low-growing shrubs and groundcover to provide food and places to hide. Dense native vegetation can give quail somewhere to shelter from predators while producing seeds and insects for them to forage... and, while you might love a neat lawn, they certainly do not.

Lark Bunting

Colorado

Colorado's lark bunting is a prairie bird, so the best planting strategy is to think less about flower borders and more about native grasses and open prairie plants.

Allowing native grasses and seed-producing plants to remain standing can provide food and cover, while a more naturalistic planting can support the insects birds need during the breeding season.

For this bird, a little wildness is very much a good thing. Try mixing the following:

American Robin

Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin

American Robins are famously adaptable, but they're not simply lawn birds. They eat huge numbers of invertebrates as well as fruit, and in winter they make greater use of berry-producing trees and shrubs.

Try planting serviceberry, hawthorn or other native fruiting plants suited to your region. These can provide berries later in the year while also adding useful structure to the garden. Personally, though, I love a dogwood.

And if you're hoping to see robins hunting for worms, keeping at least some healthy lawn or open ground can help too.

Blue Hen Chicken

Delaware

This one comes with a rather important caveat; Delaware's state bird is the blue hen chicken, a domestic breed rather than a wild bird that you can realistically lure into your backyard with a particular plant (not without annoying your poultry-rearing neighbors, anyway).

So instead of promising a magic chicken-attracting shrub, use this as an opportunity to create a generally wildlife-friendly garden with grasses, shrubs and fruiting plants. Because, if your actual goal is attracting wild birds, those same plants will be considerably more useful.

Brown Thrasher

Georgia

The state bird of Georgia, brown thrashers like dense cover, leaf litter and places where they can forage, making them a good match for a slightly less manicured garden.

Plant native berry-producing shrubs and allow some fallen leaves and natural groundcover to remain. Dense shrubs can provide shelter, while fruit and the insects living among native vegetation provide food.

It's another excellent excuse not to make every inch of the garden look like a golf course (and rest on your laurels a bit rather than whip the lawn mower out every five seconds).

Nēnē

Hawaii

Hawaii's official state bird is the nēnē, or Hawaiian Goose, and this is another bird where habitat is more important than choosing one ornamental garden plant.

For gardeners in Hawaii, prioritize native Hawaiian plants appropriate to your island and habitat. Native vegetation can provide food and shelter while helping preserve the ecosystems this endemic species depends on.

This isn't a case where planting one particular shrub will bring a nēnē to your yard; try to think habitat restoration rather than backyard bird attraction.

Mountain Bluebird

Idaho and Nevada

Mountain bluebirds are associated with open country, so a garden that combines native grasses with berry-producing shrubs can provide more useful habitat than a densely planted border.

Serviceberry is one option where it is native and suited to local conditions (and, hey, there is a great deal on the Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry at Nature Hills right now). Otherwise, native shrubs can provide fruit, while grasses and open ground create foraging habitat.

The important thing is to choose species native to your particular part of Idaho or Nevada rather than assuming a plant is suitable statewide.

Northern Cardinal

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia

If you're hoping to attract your state's official bird, cardinals are probably one of the easiest birds on this list to garden for. They're the state bird of seven states, more than any other species, and n wonder; they look stunning!

To tempt them into your yard, try planting hawthorn, dogwood, serviceberry, hackberry, sumac or other native fruiting and seed-producing plants. Cardinals eat plenty of seeds and fruit, too, which means you should have luck if you keep feeders topped up, too:

American Goldfinch

Iowa, New Jersey and Washington

The American goldfinch is a particularly easy state bird to garden for because its favorite foods are so closely tied to plants.

Plant native thistles, sunflowers, asters and other seed-producing plants, and resist the temptation to cut every seedhead down as soon as flowering finishes. After all, goldfinches eat seeds almost exclusively (although they also use shrubs and small trees for nesting).

Basically, consider this permission to leave the slightly untidy seedhead you were about to cut down out for your feathered friends.

Western Meadowlark

Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming

Six states share the western meadowlark, another state bird that makes a strong case for replacing some manicured lawn with native prairie grasses.

Choose something like Golden Sunset™ Yellow Prairie Grass from Nature Hills or any other plants suited to your local prairie ecosystem, allowing them to provide seeds, insects and cover. This isn't a bird that needs a carefully designed flower bed; keep things natural and relaxed.

Brown Pelican

Louisiana

Louisiana's state bird is the brown pelican, and you're unlikely to attract one by adding a shrub to your backyard. Instead, gardeners near suitable coastal or wetland habitat can support birds by planting native coastal and wetland vegetation and protecting existing habitat (sign up for something like the Wetlands America Trust).

The trick is to think bigger than the individual garden; native plants can help provide food, shelter and nesting habitat for birds, while healthy coastal vegetation also supports the wider ecosystem on which waterbirds depend. Win win!

Black-capped Chickadee

Maine and Massachusetts

Black-capped chickadees are some of the cutest state birds around, so do them a favor and gift them trees and shrubs; they can use both for both food and shelter.

Try native birch, serviceberry, dogwood and other trees and shrubs suited to your area. Native plants support insects as well as producing seeds and fruit, giving chickadees more than one reason to investigate.

A layered garden with trees, shrubs and lower planting? Way more valuable than a lawn surrounded by isolated ornamental plants.

Baltimore Oriole

Maryland

Baltimore orioles have a serious sweet tooth. They seek out ripe fruit, nectar and insects, and thus are way more likely to visit gardens filled with plants such as raspberries, crabapples and trumpet vines (this Summer Jazz™ Fire Trumpet Vine from Nature Hills is great for privacy, too!).

For a more wildlife-friendly garden, choose native fruiting trees and shrubs suited to your area, particularly those that produce dark-colored ripe fruit. Mind you, if you already have a mature fruiting tree, don't be surprised if an oriole finds it before you do.

Common Loon

Minnesota

Minnesota's common loon is another state bird that requires a slight change of thinking. Rather than trying to attract a loon to a residential garden, focus on protecting and restoring native shoreline and aquatic vegetation if you live near suitable loon habitat.

Honestly, healthy lakes and shorelines matter far more than any particular garden plant this this wonderful bird.

Purple Finch

New Hampshire

Purple finches use a mixture of woodland, shrubland and garden habitat, making a diverse planting particularly useful. Think birches, conifers and berry-producing shrubs, as these can prove a triple threat in terms of seeds, fruit, cover and nesting opportunities.

Greater Roadrunner

New Mexico

New Mexico's greater roadrunner is another state bird that appreciates a garden with a little more wild character; so, plant native desert shrubs and cacti to provide cover and support the insects, lizards and other small prey that roadrunners hunt.

Rather than filling a desert yard with exotic ornamental plants, work with the vegetation that naturally belongs there. Native Southwestern plants can provide food and shelter while also being better adapted to local heat and drought.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Oklahoma

The scissor-tailed flycatcher is an insect-eating bird, so planting for it is less about berries and more about creating habitat that supports insects. With that in mind, then, choose native trees and shrubs suited to Oklahoma, and let your garden get a little more interesting. Eastern red cedar, American plum, serviceberry and roughleaf dogwood are all worth a look, and you certainly don't need to plant them in matching rows.

A mixture of trees, shrubs and smaller plants creates a much livelier garden, supporting far more insect life than a highly simplified landscape. And that's good news for insect-eating birds, which suddenly have somewhere to hunt, hide and raise a family.

Ruffed Grouse

Pennsylvania

Ruffed Grouse are woodland birds, so gardeners in Pennsylvania should think less about pristine borders and more about creating the kind of slightly untidy woodland edge a grouse might actually appreciate. Serviceberry (again!), American hazelnut, dogwood and viburnum (especially this Brandywine™ Viburnum from Nature Hills) are all useful native choices, providing berries, cover and plenty of opportunities for birds to forage.

Don't worry about everything looking perfectly manicured, either. A mixture of young trees, mature vegetation, fallen branches and dense shrubs creates a much more useful habitat than a garden where every inch is neatly trimmed.

In other words, this is one bird that may genuinely appreciate you leaving things a little wild. And, frankly, that's a gardening style I can get behind.

Rhode Island Red Hen

Rhode Island

Like Delaware's blue hen, Rhode Island's official state bird is a domestic chicken breed rather than a wild bird you can tempt into the garden with one magical plant. Still, think about creating a varied planting of little bluestem, American beautyberry, serviceberry and native sunflowers, giving visiting birds a mixture of seeds, berries, cover and places to forage.

And if you happen to keep Rhode Island Reds yourself? Why, that's a whole different gardening problem. Those ladies have their own opinions about what belongs in a flower bed.

Carolina Wren

South Carolina

Carolina wrens love dense, brushy habitat, making them an excellent candidate for the slightly informal garden. Wax myrtle, American holly (go for the self-pollinating Royal Family Holly Combo from Nature Hills), yaupon holly and native dogwood can all help create the thick cover these busy little birds appreciate, while also offering food and shelter for other garden visitors.

Don't be too quick to remove every fallen branch, twig or patch of natural vegetation, either. Carolina Wrens hunt among dense foliage for insects and use thick vegetation for shelter and nesting, so a garden that's a little rough around the edges can actually work in your favor.

In fact, that messy corner you've been meaning to tidy up? It could be exactly what your state bird wants.

Ring-necked Pheasant

South Dakota

Ring-necked pheasants aren't looking for a perfectly manicured flower bed. They're birds of grasslands, farmland and scrubby edges, where food and cover are often found side by side.

If you're gardening in a suitable rural area, think in terms of layers rather than landscaping. Native grasses, shrubs and dense vegetation can provide places to feed, shelter and hide, while patches of open ground give these ground-dwelling birds room to move around. So don't worry about creating a garden that looks polished from every angle; for a ring-necked pheasant, a little bit of a scruffiness may look a lot more inviting than a pristine border ever could.

Ring-billed Gull

Utah

Utah's state bird is the ring-billed gull, which presents a slightly different gardening challenge. Unless your backyard happens to come with a lake attached, you're probably not going to tempt one in with a particularly enticing flower bed.

Near suitable water, native shoreline and wetland plants can help support the wider ecosystem that gulls and other waterbirds rely on. But if your garden is nowhere near the habitat these birds prefer? Well, don't feel obliged to start landscaping like a lakeside resort. Instead, plant for the birds that actually live around you.

Honestly, a diverse native garden can provide food, shelter and nesting opportunities for plenty of local species, even if Utah's official feathered mascot remains firmly elsewhere.

Hermit Thrush

Vermont

Hermit thrushes aren't really border-and-lawn birds. They're woodland dwellers, so the more your garden can resemble a little slice of Vermont woodland edge, the better.

Keep mature trees where you can, then build up the layers beneath them with native shrubs, berry-producing plants and other woodland-friendly vegetation. That gives hermit thrushes somewhere to forage, shelter and move through the garden without everything feeling too exposed.

Think less “collection of ornamental plants” and more tiny woodland with a few gaps for you to enjoy, too!

Remember, attracting birds isn't only about food; native trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers can provide nesting sites, shelter from predators and weather, and the insects birds need to feed their young.

So whether your state bird is a cardinal, goldfinch, bluebird or something considerably less likely to visit a suburban backyard, the same principle applies: plant for habitat, not just for the bird. And if your state isn't represented here because it doesn't have an official state bird, don't let that stop you! A garden planted with native trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers can and will still welcome plenty of local birds, whether your state has given one of them an official title or not.

A garden full of feathered friends? Well worth the effort, quite frankly!