Table 2: Examples of windbreak plants that benefit wildlife
and their primary wildlife values, which occur mostly during summer and fall (S), fall and winter (W), or include browse (B).
| Songbirds | Gamebirds | Fur & game mammals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants1,2 | Overall wildlife value | Nesting | Food | Cover | Food | Cover | Food | Cover |
| Conifers (Excellent winter cover, food, and nesting sites) | ||||||||
| Eastern redcedar | Excellent | * | W | SW | W | SW | B | SW |
| Rocky Mtn. juniper | Excellent | * | W | SW | W | SW | B | SW |
| Arborvitae | Good - Excel | * | SW | SW | B | SW | ||
| Spruce | Good | * | SW | SW | SW | |||
| Pine | Good - Excel | ** | S | SW | S | SW | B | SW |
| Fir | Fair | * | SW | SW | SW | |||
| Deciduous trees (Nesting and foraging sites, food, canopy and habitat structure) | ||||||||
| Oaks | Excellent | * | W | S | W | S | WB | S |
| Osageorange | Excellent | ** | S | S | S | |||
| Hackberry | Excellent | ** | SW | S | W | S | B | S |
| Pecan | Fair | W | S | W | S | W | S | |
| Black walnut | Fair | W | S | S | W | S | ||
| Mulberry | Fair | * | S | S | S | S | S | S |
| Ash | Good | * | W | S | W | S | B | S |
| Maple | Good | * | S | S | S | S | B | S |
| Siberian elm | Excellent | ** | S | S | S | S | ||
| Cottonwood/poplar | Fair | * | S | S | B | S | ||
| Black cherry | Excellent | * | S | S | S | S | SB | S |
| Flowering crabapples | Excellent | ** | W | S | W | S | WB | S |
| Hickory | Fair | W | S | W | S | W | S | |
| Hawthorn | Good | ** | W | S | W | S | B | S |
| Serviceberry | Good | * | S | S | S | S | B | S |
| Tall shrubs (Nesting sites, food, cover near ground) | ||||||||
| Russian olive | Good | * | W | S | W | S | W | S |
| Autumn olive | Excellent | * | W | SW | W | SW | W | SW |
| Honeysuckles | Excellent | ** | W | SW | W | SW | WB | SW |
| Viburnums | Excellent | * | W | SW | W | SW | WB | SW |
| Shrub dogwoods | Excellent | * | S | SW | S | SW | B | S |
| Buffaloberry | Good | W | SW | W | SW | SW | ||
| Staghorn & smooth sumacs | Good | W | S | W | S | B | S | |
| Short shrubs (Nesting sites, food, cover near ground) | ||||||||
| Fragrant sumac | Excellent | * | W | SW | W | SW | B | SW |
| American plum | Excellent | ** | S | SW | S | SW | S | SW |
| Common chokecherry | Excellent | ** | S | SW | S | SW | SB | SW |
| Chickasaw plum | Excellent | * | S | SW | S | SW | S | SW |
| Sargent crabapple | Excellent | * | W | S | W | S | WB | S |
| Cotoneaster | Good | S | S | S | S | S | S | |
| Amur maple | Excellent | * | S | S | S | S | B | S |
| Coralberry & snowberries | Good - Excel | W | SW | W | SW | B | SW | |
1Bold letters or two dots indicate an especially good wildlife feature.
2Several plants in this list have a variety of species or cultivars, and some may have features that differ from those indicated. Also, there may be good plant selections for your area that are not included.
Last updated March 2, 2000.
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