Which tree for the birds?

[Big Andy]

Around March time I intend to plant two or three trees in my garden. I don't have a lot of space so they will have to be smaller species like apple etc. I'm not interested in the fruit myself so please give me your oppinions on what would be best for the birds and why.

PS. It would help if they looked nice as well, I don't want to upset her indoors now do I.

 

[CT]

You want to be looking for something which doesn't have foliage so dense that it will hamper you getting clear shots of the birds. Something like this dwarf variety of fir will be ideal.

There are lots of varieties of this type of tree, often with attrractive grey or blue coloured foliage.... be warned though they're not cheap. Look for a slow growing species - something that makes about ten feet in height in as many years.

The advantage of this type of tree is that you can scatter seed over the tree which will lodge in the spines and quickly attract birds to it. A lot of my garden bird shots are taken on a tree similar to this. We scatter seed on it every morning and it's a proper little Mecca for the birds.

 

[DaiTheDragon]

I planted 2 Crab Apple trees in my small garden. Great in the summer for insects and good in the winter as the Blackbirds eat the fruit and the leaves fall off giving me the oppertunity to get photographs.

Dai

 

[dracaj]

I have a small rowan tree in my back garden it attracts many species as the birds love the berries.