Hobbies And Interests
Northern Bayberries
The Northern Bayberry---also known as the Myrica pensylvanica formally---is a small shrub that blooms fruits mostly during the fall, but sometimes during the winter, too. The silver-to-grayish berries serve as food for birds and provide a pleasant fragrance to humans. The shrub offers good cover for several different types of bird species---such as tree swallow, bluebirds, and catbirds---all of whom commonly construct nests within it.
Winterberry Shrubs
Winterberry shrubs---also known as "holly" or liex verticillata formally---are a type of deciduous shrub that has fruit during the fall, although it sometimes persists through winter. The small hardy shrub is very weather-resilient and normally very tolerant of rainy conditions. The scarlet berries that the holly produces are common food sources for birds during the winter. Due to the berries only being on the female holly plants, bird enthusiasts are encouraged to plant one or more females with any male plants. The winterberry attracts many bird species, including robins, waxwings, and bluebirds, who are common nesters within the shrub.
Staghorn Sumacs
The Staghorn Sumac---also known as the Rhus typhina formally---is a small deciduous shrub; however, it is sometimes classified as a small tree. Like most other shrubs, fruiting occurs during the fall, but persists through the winter. The Staghorn Sumac is pleasant to the eyes, producing red foliage and spiky red fruit clusters. They produce fruit and seeds, which serve to attract many more bird types than the majority of other shrubs. Although some birds do nest in the Sumac shrub, it is less often than most other types of shrubs, as the tree is very open and does not have a lot of foliage. The birds it attracts include bluebirds, robins, thrushes, cardinals, starlings, catbirds, and chickadees.