Audubon® Native Northern Bayberry

With its dense, twiggy branches, Northern Bayberry is just what birds are looking for when they want to start a family. Plant it en masse, and you’ll encourage songbirds to nest in your yard! In fall, you’ll have more activity in your Bayberry bushes when female plants bear their nutritious fruits, and the birds come flocking. Sweet, perky Yellow-rumped Warblers (known affectionately to birders as “butter butts”) are first in line. They rely on the high-fat berries to fuel their fall migration. Chickadees, bluebirds, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, titmice, catbirds, and Brown Thrashers are also fond of the silvery fruits.

You may not equate “fatty” with “nutritious,” but for birds in fall, fatty foods are the healthiest of all. Fruits with a naturally high fat content give birds the energy they need for migration, or—in the case of winter-residents—for just staying warm. Northern Bayberry has been found to have one of the highest fat quotients of any native fruit, so it gives birds a big bang for their buck. This species mostly hugs the Atlantic coastline and is present from Canada to North Carolina. It provides wonderful rest stops for birds migrating via the Atlantic flyway.

Bayberry candles! This is where the authentic ones come from. American settlers were happy to learn they could turn fragrant, waxy Northern Bayberry fruits into candles. The process was labor-intensive, but the result burned clean and bright—and smelled delightful!