How can you make your property more attractive to birds and other urban wildlife?
Though manicured lawns may be pleasing to the human eye, they’ve been referred to as biological deserts, where few four-legged or winged critters can survive.
The first decision to be made is what wildlife you want to attract. It may not be possible to attract a large forest-dwelling bird such as a wild turkey to a suburban lot, but you could have good luck with local birds such as cardinals, blue jays, juncos and towhees.
There are two approaches to attracting birds and other wildlife to your property. A short-term solution would be putting up feeders and suet cakes for birds and a small brush pile or non-mowed area for small wildlife such as rabbits.
Cracked corn and sunflower seeds are favored by cardinals, blue jays, mourning doves, tufted titmice and towhees. Suet cakes will attract nuthatches, wrens and woodpecker species. Niger and thistle seed will draw in goldfinches and chickadees, but some of these birds are migrants that have likely flown south for the winter.
A longer-term solution for wildlife attraction is planting or adding more things to your back yard that wildlife can feed on year-round. Brushpiles, to provide winter wildlife shelter, are easy to put together using fallen branches or wood scraps. Try to follow a crossed-log design, almost like building a log cabin frame with an opening on one side for easy access. This makes an open pocket in the middle and allows wildlife some shelter from snow and cold winds. If the branches collapse close to the ground, wildlife can’t easily get inside.
Plant shrubs such as crabapples, dogwood, hawthorn, spicebush and viburnum. All of them have edible berries that attract birds. These plant species can be planted in a small windbreak pattern or at the corners of your home to add some spring or fall color.
For additional ideas, please call the Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District at 740-653-8154.
Remember, if you build it, they will come!
By Perry Orndorff, Wildlife Specialist, Fairfield SWCD
