Best Pollinators for Attracting Birds and Monarchs.

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Attracting birds and monarch butterflies to your garden requires thoughtful planting and the creation of an environment that supports these pollinators’ needs. By choosing the right plants and ensuring the right habitat, you can transform your outdoor space into a sanctuary for both.

 

Birds and monarch butterflies are both drawn to plants that provide nourishment and shelter. For monarchs, their lifecycle depends heavily on milkweed plants. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed, and it is the only plant that their caterpillars eat. Therefore, including various species of milkweed such as common milkweed, swamp milkweed, and butterfly weed in your garden is essential for attracting monarch butterflies. These plants offer both a food source and a breeding ground for these beautiful pollinator plants. Milkweed’s bright flowers, which bloom in late spring to early summer, provide nectar for adult monarchs as well as other insects and pollinators, further contributing to the overall health of your garden.

 

In addition to milkweed, other nectar-rich flowering plants are crucial for attracting monarch butterflies. Flowers that bloom throughout the season, offering a continuous food source, are particularly helpful. Plants such as lantana, zinnias, and Mexican sunflower are known to draw monarchs. These plants provide high-energy nectar, which monarchs need for their migration. Monarchs also love flowers with large, flat heads where they can land easily to feed, and brightly colored blooms—especially red, orange, yellow, and purple—are especially attractive to them.

 

Birds, on the other hand, are often drawn to a garden that offers both food and cover. Native plants are the most effective way to attract birds, as these plants provide seeds, berries, insects, and shelter that native bird species are adapted to. For instance, sunflowers are particularly favored by seed-eating birds like finches, sparrows, and chickadees. In the fall, these plants provide a reliable source of food for birds as they prepare for winter. Coneflowers, too, are popular with birds, especially goldfinches, which love to feast on their seeds once the blooms have faded.

 

Beyond just providing seeds, many plants can attract birds by drawing insects, which make up a crucial part of many birds’ diets. Trees such as oak and willow are exceptional at supporting a wide range of insects, including caterpillars and beetles, which in turn attract insectivorous birds like warblers and chickadees. Shrubs like elderberry and serviceberry produce berries that are eaten by a variety of birds, including robins, thrushes, and cedar waxwings. These shrubs are particularly attractive in late summer and early fall when they bear fruit, providing a food source as birds begin their migration.

 

To create an environment that attracts both monarchs and birds, you should aim for a diverse garden that includes a variety of native plants. Native plants are essential because they have evolved alongside local wildlife and provide the specific food sources that both birds and butterflies require. Planting in layers—incorporating ground covers, perennials, shrubs, and trees—creates habitat diversity, offering shelter and protection from predators while providing different food sources at different times of the year.

 

In addition to plants, providing water sources is another important aspect of attracting birds and monarchs. A shallow birdbath or small water feature can help draw birds into your garden, while damp, muddy patches of ground give monarch butterflies a place to drink and absorb minerals. Monarchs also engage in a behavior called "puddling," where they gather at moist spots to extract salts and other nutrients from the soil, making even the simplest of water features beneficial to these creatures.

 

Avoiding pesticides in your garden is another critical step. Pesticides can harm both the birds and the butterflies you want to attract, as well as the insects they depend on for food. Instead, focus on encouraging beneficial insects and creating a balanced ecosystem where natural predators keep pests under control.

 

By planting a variety of nectar-rich flowers, food-bearing trees, and shrubs, along with providing water and avoiding chemicals, you can create an inviting habitat that will support the needs of both birds and monarch butterflies, helping sustain their populations while adding life and beauty to your garden.