One thing you didn't mention was shrubs or trees for nesting sites. Birds
seem to prefer dense foliage in shrubs for nests.The favorites in my yard
are an overgrown, untrimmed forsythia (cardinal favorite), an althea that
has dense foliage, a bridal wreath that is about five feet tall and as
wide,
and a couple of Japanese maples along with a holly that a brown thrasher
nests in yearly. Bird nests are impossible to spot in any of these
shrubs/trees unless you pull aside the foliage. We usually only realize
there are nests in these when we hear a male singing or notice activity in
and out of the plant as the parents gather food.

Birds also pick unusual spots. One was a pot of ivy on our front porch
which
a Carolina wren decided was the perfect nesting site. Yes, I watered the
ivy
from the bottom while the wren claimed it.

John

Yeah, our neighbor had a robin build a nest in a hanging basket last year.
You never know where they will choose! I didn't mention trees or shrubs
because there are a bunch right nearby in the neighbors' yard mostly aspens
but also an apple of some kind and a crab apple. There was even an elm that
I didn't know about until it got chopped by the city this summer due to
dutch elm disease. Our neighbor's lot is wooded--ours was pretty empty
except for 3 very tall spruces in front. We've got a totally different
ecosystem going on there, with a feeder, suet and heated bird bath this
winter. Birds seem to love the shelter of the spruces, it is kind of like a
mini evergreen forest. The back garden will be more like grassland/praire
since it will be a little more exposed but with trees nearby.

mm