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Where do the plant recommendations come from?

USDA PLANTS for native ranges, Doug Tallamy's research and the National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder for ecological value, plus Audubon's Plants for Birds database and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for regional fit.

Are these all native plants?

Yes. Every recommendation is genuinely native to the area associated with your ZIP code.

Why is this bird-driven instead of plant-driven?

Most planners start with your climate zone and give you a generic native plant list. This one starts with the birds you actually want to attract, then filters plants to the ones that support those species.

Plants for Birds in Alaska

Native Alaska plants that genuinely support the birds you want in your yard.

Alaska holds one of the most intact bird ecosystems left on earth. Willow Ptarmigans — the state bird — turn snow-white in winter. Bald Eagles cluster along salmon rivers by the thousand. And the Pribilof and Aleutian islands are the only North American sites for Whiskered Auklets, Red-faced Cormorants, and a list of seabirds you don't see anywhere else on the continent.

Native Alaska plants do work that exotic ornamentals can't. They host the caterpillars and insects that 96% of Alaska's breeding songbirds rely on to feed their chicks during the brief sub-arctic summer. Sitka spruces, paper birches, dwarf willows, blueberries, and the tundra wildflowers built the state's bird communities. (Heads up: our planner's plant database has thinner coverage in Alaska than in the lower 48 — the example list below is the most reliable starting point.)

Enter your Alaska ZIP code in the tool below. The planner will filter every plant in our database to the ones we have data for in your part of Alaska — Southeast, Interior, Southcentral, or Bush — and useful for the birds you actually want. Pick the species — Willow Ptarmigan, Bald Eagles, hummingbirds (yes, Rufous reach Alaska), or all of them — and we'll give you a plant list that does the work.

Native Alaska plants that genuinely support birds

A few of the most useful native Alaska plants for birds:

Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) — Southeast Alaska keystone tree. Cover for kinglets, juncos, jays.
White Spruce (Picea glauca) — Interior boreal forest. Seeds for crossbills, redpolls.
Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) — Hosts many caterpillars; seeds for redpolls and siskins.
Black Spruce (Picea mariana) — Bog and muskeg native; cover for many breeding warblers.
Bog Blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) — Summer fruit for thrushes, grouse, and many migrants.
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) — Spring nectar for Rufous Hummingbirds; summer fruit for many birds.
Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) — Bright red berries for thrushes and forest birds.
High Bush Cranberry (Viburnum edule) — Red winter fruit for waxwings and grouse.
Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) — Tundra fruit for ptarmigan and shorebirds.
Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) — White berries for thrushes and forest birds.
Wild Geranium (Geranium erianthum) — Tundra and meadow native; pollinator-friendly.
Fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium) — Alaska's signature wildflower. Pollinator favorite.

This is a state-wide overview. For a list tailored to your garden:

Enter your Alaska ZIP and pick the birds you actually want. The planner filters every plant in our database down to the ones native to your part of Alaska and genuinely useful for your birds.

What's your ZIP code?

We'll show you native plants that are genuinely native to your area and rank them by which birds they support.

US ZIP code

Free. No email. We'll filter every plant in the database to those actually native to your state and suited to your USDA zone.

Better With Birds

Shop the birds you love

If you're already this excited about Alaska birds, you're going to like the apparel, prints, and stickers we've designed around them.

Bald Eagles, Willow Ptarmigan, Sandhill Cranes, Rufous Hummingbirds — all illustrated and designed by Jaymi at Better With Birds. Made-to-order, never mass-printed.