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By landscaping with wildlife in mind, you
are helping the wildlife, your own environment and that of your
community
My
Backyard Bird List
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Northern Bobwhite
Double-crested Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shined Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-dove
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Barn Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
Great Horned Owl
Short-eared Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Humbird
Black-chinned Humbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Humbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Wpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Northern Shrike
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Steller's Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blk-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Wh-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
Townsend's Solitaire
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
MacGillivray's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lincoln Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Common Redpoll
Pine Siskin
Lesser
Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
House Sparrow
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In 1995 my yard was certified as a
National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat.
To receive this certification I have to provide food, water,
shelter and a place to raise young. After getting the basics in
the yard and planning for future changes I filled out the
paperwork, drew a plan of the yard and sent it in for approval.
The forms can now be done on line, just click the link for more
information on how your yard can become a habitat for birds and
other wildlife. |
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Food
One of the basics that all wildlife needs is food and
the best way to provide it is to plant native trees, shrubs,
grasses and perennials. Birds time their nesting to food
availability, non-native plants may not flower or fruit at the
correct times. Also native plants will do better in our area
since they are adapted to the soil, weather and insects they
require less maintenance. I have planted several varieties of
viburnum, sumac, snowberries, oak, crabapple, chokecherry, plum,
dogwood and many types of grasses and perennials. The plants
provide food year around and none are cut back until spring.
Also plant debris is left on the ground to provide cover for
over wintering beneficial insects.
Another popular way to provide food is to put up feeders.
Different types of feeders and types of food attract different
species of birds. Black oil sunflower seeds are the most popular
food. It is a very high energy source, the seeds are an easy
size for birds to handle, have a high meat to shell ratio and
the preferred food for the birds you want to attract to your
yard. They can be fed in a variety of feeders or on the ground.
I also feed millet and corn for ground feeding birds, suet for
woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees and peanuts for the jays.
In the summer and fall I put up hummingbird feeders and
jelly/orange feeders for the orioles.
Many flowers and plants attract butterflies for feeding
and raising young. A favorite in our yard for nectar for
adult Monarchs and feeding baby Monarch
Butterflies (caterpillars) is Pink Swamp Milkweed.
Other butterflies are attracted to the nectar too.
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Water
Water is necessary for all living things and
providing water will attract species of birds to your
yard that you would otherwise not see. Moving water is
even better because birds and wildlife can hear the
water and more easily locate it. Birds that have been
seen at the ponds that would otherwise probably not stop
are Gray Catbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Waterthrush,
Ovenbirds and many warblers and spring migrants.
The water feature can be a simple birdbath or a
elaborate pond. I have a pond with a waterfall in the
backyard as well as a smaller 'bird' pond near the
feeder area shown in the lower picture. The bird pond is
about 8 inches deep with a gradual slope on one side
covered with river rock for easy access and a bog area
with reeds for cover for the birds. They feel safer if
there is some cover nearby and it looks more natural
that way. The waterfall (upper picture) at the larger
pond really brings in the birds, they love to bathe in
the moving water.
I also have a stone birdbath in the front yard that the
birds like to bath in, especially the robins. Birdbaths
should be a rough texture so the birds can get in and
out safely.
Not only for the birds, toads and dragonflies also use
the water for shelter and a place to raise young.
Rabbits, squirrels and other wildlife use the water for
drinking. And the larger pond with the waterfall is very
relaxing for us humans too. |
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Shelter
Shelter from the weather and predators are
also necessary for your habitat.
For shelter from the wind evergreen trees are important
since they provide protection all year round. Bushy
and/or thorny shrubs are good for protection from
predators. The favorite place for the birds in our yard
to hide is the fragrant sumac bush and juniper trees.
Also tall grasses and bushy plants are great places for
the birds to feel safe while they are feeding on the
ground.
A brush pile in the back of the yard provides a safe
place for White-crowned Sparrows, Juncos and Towhees to
roost at night. |
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Safe place to raise young
We have several nest boxes around the yard
and they have been used by House Wrens and Black-capped
Chickadees. Birds that have nested in the trees the past
couple of years include Robins, Western and Eastern
Kingbirds. Bullock's Orioles, Blue Jays, House Finches,
Grackles, House Sparrows and probably some I don't know
about. Also a couple of squirrel families and rabbits
raise their young here too.
Providing a 'place' to raise their young isn't all you
need to do, it needs to be a safe place.
Most birds feed their babies insects, lots and lots of
insects. Toads and dragonflies also require 'bugs' to
eat. If you are spraying insecticides in your yard you
are killing off most of their food, but even more
important, all insecticides are very poisonous to the
birds and other wildlife, especially amphibians. The
adult birds absorb it into their bodies through their
feet and babies eat the treated insects and die. I have
not used any insecticides except for mosquito dunks and
repellants for many years.
I also provide plants such as milkweed, dill and parsley
for Monarch and Swallowtail butterflies to raise their
young.
If you are considering a backyard wildlife habitat is is
very important that you limit the use of chemicals in
the yard. Nature has a very good way of taking care of
it's self if left to do so. |
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