There are multiple benefits to wildlife when you have a sycamore or two in your backyard. The seeds are eaten by birds including finches, chickadees, and juncos, as well as by small mammals such as squirrels and beavers. The American sycamore is prone to a hollowing out of the main trunk as it ages, which does not harm the tree but provides excellent shelter for wildlife. Birds that nest in the tree include owls, flycatchers, and wood ducks.