How to Make a Wildlife-Friendly Property
Throughout the seasons my gardens are visited or are home to many types of native songbirds. Outside my bedroom window a cardinal is sitting on her newly constructed nest waiting for her eggs to hatch. In just the past week the Tiger Swallows have returned along with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds drawn to the flowers and other goodies in my garden. Without them, my yard would seem lonely and incomplete.
Many of the wildlife gardening books I’ve read over the years have provided information general information such as reduce the size of your lawn, plant native wildflowers, stop using pesticides, etc. What I am going to talk about, starting with this column and continuing in the coming weeks is specific instructions for a garden project that will bring birds, butterflies, and other fascinating creature to your yard.
This series of articles will help you transform your property into a refuge that provides wildlife with all their daily needs: food, water, safe places to hide, rest, and nest. This is all the more important as wildlife habitat continues to decline at a rapid rate. Suburban sprawl destroys natural areas and invasive plants continue their rampage through habitats that used to be populated with native plants and fauna. Within the past few years we have seen the garlic mustard plant charge through our landscapes dropping tens of thousands of seeds on each acre, ensuring their dominance for years to come. The overuse of chemical pesticides and fertilizers poisons native food sources and can kill butterflies and other beneficial insects. But you can make a difference in your own back yard.
Bird Gardens
If you love birds, and who doesn’t – bird feeding and bird watching are two of the most popular pastimes in the United States-you can do a lot for them right in your own backyard, more than just putting up a bird feeder and a birdbath. By planting diversified vegetation in your yard you can create resting and nesting places and foods during all the seasons.
The Eastern Deciduous Forest that we live in consists of several different layers of vegetation. The highest layer is the canopy and this is formed by the tallest trees, typically oaks and maples in this part of Connecticut. Further down there are three more layers. The uppermost in the understory consists of small trees such as the flowering dogwoods and serviceberries. Next is the shrub layer, including plants like native viburnums and blueberries, then the ground layer consisting of ferns, wildflowers, mosses, and forest litter.
Birds use all these layers for perching, nesting, resting, and foraging. Wood thrushes and vireos usually sing from the canopy trees. Titmice feed in the flowering dogwood and cardinals nest in rest in the tall shrubs. Robins scratch around in the leaf litter looking for worms and insects. By recreating these layers of plant growth you maximize the value to wildlife.
Here are the characteristics you will need to consider for your bird-friendly yard:
- Select plants that provide food to the birds for all seasons.
- Plant some conifers and broadleaf evergreens for cover during storms, and nesting and resting opportunities.
- Leave a dead tree (that does not pose a safety hazard) for birds to perch on or to use for nesting cavities.
- Plant vines or allow native ones to grow. In our area the Virginia creeper fills the requirement admirably. Vines provide fruits and make good nesting and perching sites.
- Supply a source of water for drinking and bathing
- Provide nest boxes. Bluebirds to warblers will utilize nest boxes.
- Leave lots of leaf litter under trees and shrubs for ground-feeding birds.
- Don’t use pesticides: some of them harm birds directly, others hard the insects that birds feed on.
Next week we will itemize the plants you can use in your yards to fulfill these needs.
