Is your backyard wildlife-friendly? If you spend a little time in the bird d food food d section secti tion off your favorite store you’re bound to hear bird feeding enthusiasts comparing notes on the wildlife that frequent their yards. “I’ve had five orioles and an indigo bunting at my feeders,” they brag. During this “green” era attracting wildlife to backyards is more popular than ever. By placing a few bird feeders, and with the addition of a simple landscape project or two, you can attract wildlife of all sorts to your yard. If your backyard is already providing for wildlife, you can be recognized for your efforts by having your property certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. I certified my backyard a few years ago and during the procedure learned new ideas for future landscape and feeder projects. The certification process is easy and costs only $20, which includes a full year’s membership to the National Wildlife Federation and a one-year subscription to National Wildlife magazine.
Every wildlife-friendly backyard should feature some heavy cover for birds to nest and escape predators. This mourning dove is raising its young in a white spruce tree.
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To T o be b eligible eli ligib iblle as a Backyard Backya k rd d Wildlife Wil Wildl dlif ife Habitat Habiita Ha tatt your your yard yarrd must furnish wildlife with certain habitat requirements. Basically, a backyard must provide one or more essential elements from each of five wildlife habitat categories: food, water, cover, a place to raise young, and sustainable gardening. The Food category is broken down into two subcategories, plant foods and feeder types. The plant food subcategory listed eight sources of food that could be provided to wildlife by landscaping with various food-producing plants. The proper plants could provide seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, nectar, sap, twigs, and pollen. I satisfied that requirement since I have landscaped my yard with various plants that provide all of the above food sources. For instance I planted green ash trees to provide seeds, red oak trees to supply nuts, June berry, chokecherry and elderberry for their berries, and crab apple, plum, mountain ash for their fruit, etc. The second Food subcategory — feeder types — lists six styles of feeders. The feeder types are tube (usually thistle feeders), platform, suet, hummingbird, squirrel, and butterfly. Water is the second essential wildlife habitat element. Wildlife needs water for drinking, of course, but also for bathing. There are several subcategories from which to choose. I fulfilled the water requirement by having a pond excavated in my rural backyard. The third essential element required when certifying a Backyard Wildlife Habitat is Cover. Your backyard should provide wildlife shelter from bad weather and a place to hide from predators. There are 13 Cover subcategories of which two are required. Again there are many subcategories, including wooded areas, dense shrubs or hedges, evergreens, or brush or rock piles. I met the two requirements by planting several white
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