This is a good time of the year to look at what the birds in your yard are eating but not at the feeders. Which shrubs, trees or flowers are still producing fruit, seeds or blossoms? As the lushness of summer fades, those plants with life in them stand out. Some stand out because that’s where the birds are.

After watching the hummingbird activity all summer and into the fall, I’ve decided that you can’t have too many fuchsia plants.

The hanging baskets are attractive – and I’m willing to water and fertilize them – but it’s the hardy varieties both upright and hanging that I prefer. Plant them in the flower beds or in pots and have them anywhere you desire some hummingbird activity.

As more and more of us enjoy the wintering Anna’s hummingbirds, those plants that enable this bird to survive the colder months become important.

The fuchsia plants are hardier than we once thought, so they are good plants to include in the yard’s landscape. There are other plants to also consider when planting fall and winter hummingbird food.

Plants whose blossoms hang downward or have a pendulous nature should be considered when planting for hummingbirds.

Some well-known ones are the cape fuchsia (Phygelius) and the huge family of salvia which include the sages. A pair of Anna’s hummingbirds feeding on the blossoms of the black and blue salvia make fall work in the garden a pleasure.

One more group of plants popular with the hummers is the heucheras. The tall, spindly flower spikes are often overlooked, as these plants are desired for their foliage, but hummingbirds love heuchera flowers and the plants bloom continuously.

Starting in late summer and continuing into fall, berry-producing plants support resident birds as well as summer species that feed on them before they migrate. The native elderberry is loved by the Swainson’s thrush and the Black Beauty elderberry not only attracts the towhees but is a magnet for black-headed grosbeaks.

As I walked around the yard, noting plants currently attracting birds, some old favorites stood out. The native dogwood can be a messy tree once the leaves turn red and start falling.

It’s susceptible to disease and, in some yards, grows too tall, but I love our dogwoods. Their white blossoms in the spring are a seasonal delight.

In the fall, their red buttons rain down on the ground as the birds harvest them. Band-tailed pigeons teetering and tottering through the dogwood branches are a wonderful sight, as are the waves of whispering cedar waxwings.

Another old favorite with the birds is the mountain ash tree. When a mixed flock of robins, starlings, towhees, jays and flickers attacks the orange berries, they can strip the tree in one day.

Wild blackberries drive us crazy when they grow where they aren’t wanted. Where it’s possible to let them do their thing, they are popular with the birds all year. They provide nesting cover, shelter from the weather and food that lasts through fall and into winter as the plump berries dry into seed clusters.

An autumn walk around the yard to see who is eating what promises to provide some unexpected pleasure and even a surprise or two.

Write to Joan Carson, PO Box 217, Poulsbo, WA 98370. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a reply.