Whenever you can create
this kind of environment, it will
sustain the widest variety of
wildlife. The same can be said
of planting in “levels," from
ground covers through shrubs,
on into small trees and finally
tall upper-story trees.
Reduce Open Areas
While maintaining open areas
for your family, there are
corner-of-the-yard additions
that provide protective
shelter, nesting sites, and
escape routes for such
creatures as rabbits, foxes,
and woodchucks.
Hedgerows of dogwood,
honeysuckle, redbud, or wild
cherry offer both shelter and
food, as do thickets of roses
or blackberries. If you have the
space, field crops such as
corn, grain sorghum, or
soybeans are excellent.
Brush piles are another
possibility, and should be
placed near the edge of woods,
or at the edge of a pond with
part of the brush submerged.
They should be about 5 ft. high
and at least 12 ft. in diameter.
Discarded Christmas trees are
one source of brush pile
material. The foundation should
consist of large rocks or big logs
which won’t decompose too
quickly.
Rock piles or walls can be at
the back of your lot, or in the
center of a pond. They attract
ducks and turtles, so avoid
placing them near the edge of
the water where those species
would be more vulnerable to
predators. Providing food and
water sources close to any
shelter feature will naturally
make it even more attractive to
wildlife.
Space to Raise a Family
As humans, when we think
about desirable space, we tend
to picture it wide and open. For
us, it is more of a luxury than a
necessity. While we can continue
to exist, even if more stressfully,
within limited space, this isn’t
the case for wildlife.
Each species has a minimum
area that it requires for food,
water, raising a family, and basic
survival. This varies from very
small habitats to large tracts of
unbroken forest. While there can
be two to four chipmunks per
acre with a range as small as
half an acre, ideally there will be
only one to four raccoons per 47
acres, and their range can be
almost two miles.
Dead trees are only one
example of “free" shelter that
we remove when we manicure our
yards. Mowing takes away the
tall grasses that protect large
numbers of birds and small
mammals. Allowing a corner of
the yard, or a strip along one
edge of your property, to grow
tall will help wildlife, while still
retaining lawn areas for your
family.
Adding a fence, paths, or a
bench can make this
environment looked more
planned and acceptable in
neighborhoods with strict
zoning regulations, as well as
encouraging you to walk inside
for a closer look.
You can let naturally-
occurring vegetation grow tall
enough to offer shelter, or you
might want to think about
creating a wildflower meadow
for additional color and beauty.
One of the best places to find
diversity of wildlife is known as
“edge," that area where
different types of plant
communities come together.
This might involve an abrupt
change, such as woods to tilled
farmland; or a more gradual
transition from woods to a tall
grass and brush-filled field.
