Come on in, and enjoy your new "habitat"!
Welcome to Gardening for Wildlife
Thanks, folks!
Ohhhh boysers!! ..
Very anxious to read and see what others are brewing and constructing.
- Magpye
Thank you Terry and Dave.
Equilibrium
May 23, 2006
Very Nice. Thank you very much!
Thank you!
I am here.
me too!
I'm hoping for lots of information to use at our new place. Don't think I will get much done this summer besides moving but all the threads to be will be still be here.
Just to kick things off… a little oddity. I realize that this isn’t exactly gardening but I thought it’d be a fun starter upper.
A ramp I put up so my Chipmunks can get a drink from the birdbath.
Ahhhh, DW ...
I know the lil boogers appreciate your kind and thoughtful consideration, so very much!!
Besides, such will also enable you to fetch a bunch more wonderful captures of them and their antics! (as if you didn't already know this!)
.. hee ..
((huggs))
- Magpye
I'm hoping to get a TRUE picture of you in your former life !
... LOL ...
((gigglin' to beat the band here!))
- Magpye
Equilibrium
May 24, 2006
Good job dwdruley! Water is one of the five elements of wildlife habitat creation. Way to go!
Ok, since I'm a novice at this please list the five elements of wildlife habitat creation.
Thanks,Pixie
I am so happy to see this new forum. I don't feel like I have enough information to post (not even enough to ask questions). It is in my list of favorites.
Equilibrium
May 24, 2006
Based on with whom you speak, there are either 4 or 5 basic elements. I'm going to cut and past the first 4 from the National Wildlife Federation's site- http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/habitat2.cfm
Quoting:
Food
Restoration of native plant communities to your yard should be the main emphasis of your habitat project. This is especially important since our native plants and wildlife have co-evolved.
Select plants that provide natural foods such as fruits, seeds, nuts, and nectar. Choose your plants to provide food for backyard wildlife throughout the year.
Native perennials and annuals provide nectar for both butterflies and hummingbirds. One program participant says "hummingbirds like ice-cream cones and butterflies like pizza." This is because hummingbirds tend to visit tube-shaped, red flowers such as bee balm, wild columbine, and our native honeysuckles. Butterflies prefer flat or clustered flowers, such as purple coneflower, phlox, and zinnias.
By choosing native plants suited to the site conditions, little maintenance, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or additional watering will be necessary for the plants to thrive. This all adds up to time and cost savings as well as a healthier habitat for you, your family, and the wildlife that inhabit your yard.
To find out which plants are native to your area, use the Native Plant Guide or contact your state or local native plant society listed on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's website.
Supplemental feeders can provide nectar for hummingbirds in the summer months and a variety of seed (sunflower, niger, safflower, and millet) for other birds throughout the year. Keep in mind that bird feeders should only be used as a supplement to natural food provided by native plants.
Water
Wildlife needs water, for drinking, bathing, and in some cases, breeding.
Water can be supplied in a birdbath, a small pond, a recirculating waterfall, or a shallow dish. If you’re lucky enough to have a natural pond, stream, vernal pool, or other wetland on your property, make sure to preserve or restore it as these are excellent aquatic habitats.
A small pond set into the ground provides water for drinking and bathing, as well as cover and reproductive areas for small fish, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. (Habitat Project: Build a pond)
However you decide to provide water, make sure you do so year round. This can easily be done with a thermostatically controlled bird bath heater to provide water during subfreezing weather when the need for water is critical.
Cover
When choosing your plants, make sure to include at least one good clump of evergreen trees and shrubs to provide year-round protective cover from weather and predators. Good choices are juniper, hollies, and live oaks, as they provide food as well as cover.
You should also plant deciduous shrubs to offer effective summer cover for nesting and escape from predators.
Rock, log, and mulch piles also offer good cover. Small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and a great variety of insects and other small animals find homes in these structures, which are easy to build. (Habitat Hint: Log pile)
Places to Raise Young
Evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs provide nesting areas for birds. Dead and dying trees (called "snags") provide nesting sites for many species such as owls, flying squirrels, and other cavity-nesters.
Rabbits, shrews, mice, snakes, and salamanders lay their eggs or raise young under boughs of plants as well as in the rock, log, or mulch piles.
Nest boxes for bluebirds, chickadees, wrens, and purple martins can be placed in your backyard.
Aquatic animals, such as frogs, toads, newts, dragonflies, and other insects, deposit their eggs in ponds, vernal pools, and other wetlands.
Butterflies require "host" plants that serve as food sources for butterflies during their larval (caterpillar) stage. Butterflies almost invariably lay their eggs on the host plant preferred by the caterpillar, so make sure to include some of the host plants in your habitat. (More details on butterflies)
The fifth element is "sustainable gardening practices" and it is becoming increasingly more important. In urban settings each plant must be chosen wisely as there will be space limitations. In other words, some plants may provide little if any value to wildlife and determining which species are best for your particular situation is going to be a hurdle but... a fun and educational hurdle. You'll probably have to consider working with native plants (which you already like anyway) as they can support 10x to 50x the species of native wildlife than introduced species. Locally native plants will be the backbone of any urban habitat creation project.
http://www.plantnative.org/how_wildlife.htm
Interesting sites for Pixie-
plug your zip code in here- http://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/faq.asp
I think you might want to download the handbook from here and start there-
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/greenacres/wildones/
http://www.stewardshipgarden.us/index.htm
http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/urban_wildlife_our_wild_neighbors/sanctuary_in_the_city/
http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/wildlife_and_habitat_protection_programs/urban_wildlife_sanctuary_program.html
http://www.backyardwildlifehabitat.info/
http://www.windstar.org/
http://www.bcpl.net/~tross/by/attract.html
http://magazine.audubon.org/backyard/gardening.html
http://www.keystone.org/
Wow! Equilibrium
As you told me "Way to go!"
Thank you very much Dave and Terry!
Hey Terry,
Could we have the top of the page blurb from the other wildlife forum since it fits much more appropriately here?
Many gardeners want to attract wildlife to their backyard. Here's a forum to discuss ideas and questions on creating a wildlife habitat in your gardens.
Thanks,
Terry
Equililbrium,
OK 'teach' I spent the morning downloading the suggested files, making a folder/notebook, and reading. Thanks for the information. It will take awhile to digest.
Pixie
Howdy Prairie dwellers and wanna be's! This is really exciting. I haven't been able to post much, still have some computer issues that hopefully will be resolved shortly. For those that didn't hear, I was nearly zapped in a lightning storm on Memorial Day, close call. Thanks Dave and Terry for providing this forum. I feel like it's a "new improved" version of DG every day!! :0)
edited because it's NOT just for subscribers only! How cool is that?
This message was edited Jun 3, 2006 6:10 PM
WOW! Just spent an hour reading both previous threads. Thanks for the good decision! In the 5 elements quoted above - it said "Select plants that provide natural foods such as fruits, seeds, nuts, and nectar." Well, we have almost 4 acres in North-Central Illinois; on a gravel road; surrounded mostly by corn and soybeans - with a 100+ acre easement across the road, (planted in wildflowers), to a wetlands area now being re-established. We currently have cats to eat the chipmunks; coyotes and hawks to eat the cats; possums and raccoons to eat the berries and etc.; and deer to browse the vegetable garden, prune the yourg hazelnut trees and grapevines - and eat the lilies. While I sometimes feel that I am already gardening for wildlife, I would like to know more - especially things like WHAT natural foods will see birds through the winter? What do the pheasants eat? How do I attract owls? I feel this is the place I'll find out. Thanks, Louise
Hi Louise, I think you'll get a lot of information if you start your own post instead of tagging onto this one where folks might not see it.