Siouxland Magazine - Volume 1 Issue 3

Siouxland Magazine | Explore / 59
Best Trees & Shrubs for Birds & Insects
American Plum (Prunus americana)
Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana)
Burr Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
American Basswood (Tilia Americana)
Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum)
Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
(From Audubon.com. Based on the number of insect species and
birds they support.)
Prairie Park
Prairie Park officially opened in fall of 2018 and incorporates
native plants and stormwater management on a comparatively
larger scale. The 32-acre park, southeast of the Wastewater
Treatment Plant, contains about 110 species of native flowers
and grasses. Notable species include butterfly milkweed,
smooth blue aster, wild bergamot, pale coneflower, prairie
blazing star, and goldenrod. The pond collects, stores, cools,
infiltrates, and filters stormwater runoff from the retail district.
The City of Sioux City Parks and Recreation
Department has adopted a policy to use native
grasses in future trail construction projects.
Chickadees
If you like birds and want them to nest in
your yard, you have to understand what
they need to eat. When birds are breeding,
they need insect larva to feed to their
young.
Doug Tallamy (Entomology and Wildlife
Ecology professor at the University of
Delaware) observed that one nest of
Chickadees needs about 7,000 caterpillars
during their three-week nesting period.
The problem is that non-natives do not
support the insect life required for birds to
thrive. Researchers found that yards need
to have at least 70 percent native plants to
support chickadee populations.
Chickadees are just one example. About 96
percent of our terrestrial birds need insects
to feed their young.
Carrie Radloff chairs the Northwest Iowa Group of Sierra Club
and serves on the Sioux City Environmental Advisory Board.
Photo credit Carrie Radloff and Cecilia Michel Lopez.