Add some LIFE to your Backyard

Invite a different kind of company over--wildlife!

Racoon Gardener Squirrel Frog Fox

How?
Attracting wildlife to your yard is enjoyable, and it counteracts the destruction of land development by humans.
Why?
All animals need water, food and shelter.  If your yard provides these basic necessities, animals will take advantage of what you  are supplying.

Providing the basic needs of your wild visitors
Water

Birds in a birdbath

Pond
Greenery

 -Supplying water is one of the best ways to attract wildlife to your property. 

-Birdbaths are one of the easiest ways to provide water. 

  • Any wide, shallow container can be used.  If the bottom of the container is slippery or if the water is deeper than  three inches, the bottom should be lined with gravel. 
  • In summer the water should be changed regularly, to insure it is clean.   During winter months the water should be cleared of ice because other water-sources are often frozen.
  • Butterflies and bees also frequent birdbaths.
-Above-ground-ponds are also simple to create. 
  • Any waterproof container that is filled to the brim will provide water for birds, chipmunks and squirrels.  Tree frogs will even climb up containers less than 24 inches high.
-Small ponds can be created using fiberglass molded forms or heavy black plastic.  Even old bathtubs, utility sinks, and children’s wading pools can be used.
  • Surrounding ponds with ground cover encourages wildlife to remain in the area.  Salamanders, toads, and many types of frogs are attracted to this type of habitat.
 Adding and inch or two of soil at the bottom will encourage frogs to hibernate in your pond.
 
Food
Blue birds

Chipmonk

 -Birdfeeders and squirrel-feeders are obvious ways to set out food, but there are natural ways to supply nourishment to wildlife

-Fruit bearing trees provide seasonal nourishment for wildlife.

-Bushes, which produce berries during the winter, will attract wildlife from great distances.

-Broccoli, cabbage, and many herbs attract butterflies.  Flowers such as Zinnias, cosmos, marigolds and lantana also attract these insects.

-Dead logs provide a habitat for insects, which will in turn, feed woodpeckers and other animals.
Shelter
Bird in nest

Rabbit

 -Providing water and food will encourage animals to visit your yard, but providing shelter will encourage them to stay.

-Leaving dead trees standing, is one of the simplest ways to create a habitat for wildlife.
 Butterflies slip into cracks in the trunk for protection.  Raccoons, squirrels, deer mice, wood ducks and owls clear out places in the rotting wood to nest.  As many as 85 birds living in the U.S. also use dead trees.

-Dense hedges create places for animals to hide from predators.  Their thick branches make it easy for birds to build nest.

-Piles of downed branches are great habitats for wildlife.  The limbs should be stacked so that they form open spaces where animals can hide, or create dens.
 

 
If you are interested in this subject here are some helpful articles.

-Lipske, Micheal.  "Enabling the disabled to attract wildlife at home."  National Wildlife. June-July, 
1997, v35.  p16.

-Lipske, Micheall.  "Turning a Small Space into a big Attraction for Wildlife."  National Wildlife. Dec-
Jan, 1996, v34.  p54.

-Tufts, Craig and Peter Loewer.  "Garden for Wildlife."  Organic Gardening. Nov-Dec, 1997 v44.  p28.

-"Turing deadwood into lively homes for wildlife."   National Wildlife. Dec-Jan, 1997 v35. p14.

-Woodier, Olwen.  "Winterize Your Yard for Wildlife."  National Wildlife. Feb-March, 1997 v35. p14.

This informational newsletter was compiled by Matthew Szymanski