Wildlife-Friendly Food

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Comment by Wild Flora on September 5, 2009 at 9:33am

As it happens, I wrote a long item about moving a bumblebee nest for my blog at http://www.wildgardeners.blogspot.com. The instructions are for moving a bumblebee nest, but they might work for "drover" bees too. (I'm not familiar with that type of bee.) The instructions are under "Q&A" on the right-hand side of the page.

Comment by Grant on August 15, 2009 at 3:45am

Hi, moving some old trees behind the cottage and found bees nest. Checked the books and they are 'drover' type. Very friendly chaps and made a hive box to encourage them to move. Any ideas?

Comment by Marla Bays on August 5, 2009 at 7:22am

I have a certified nature scape on the side yard. To qualify you have to provide moving water (a big bird bath/fountain), food ( several bird feeders and seed plants like sunflowers and beauty berry), and have over 50% of your plants be natives. I also trap and band dove from May-August for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's dove banding research program. It has been fun transforming a typical urban gardenscape to a nore natural, critter friendly area.

Comment by Susan Singley on May 24, 2009 at 8:37am

Blue birds are nesting in my box this year for the first time! Yeah!

Comment by Susan Singley on May 24, 2009 at 8:36am

My birdbath dries up everyday, either that or the bird have started using drinking straws. I'll need to add a second water feature to my yard for the birds and bugs that need it--but hesitate to add another birdbath that will just dry up each day.
What kinds of water features do you have or do you recomend for wildlife?

Comment by sandra anderson on May 17, 2009 at 11:20am

I've always been an organic gardener,so as a by product of that have always had lots of critters in the yard. But two years ago, I picked up a packet from the Washington Fish and Game Dept. about making the property a certified Backyard Habitat. I let my then 7 year old take on the challenge of fine tuning the property. It was interesting to really focus on Tree and brush cover, edible and flowering, water and sun exposure.
If you look on my page and see some of my photos your will see that in the height of the growing season, my yard is blissfully out of control! Just on the near side of being out of control! But the pay off is resident critters and a lot of wild life activity!

Comment by Sharon on May 17, 2009 at 4:04am

I have 5 acres and am still transitioning it from the way I bought it and the way I want it. The front 1.5 acres is multiple beds with grassy weeds and wildflowers in-between that unfortunately still needs to be mowed. But it is decreasing every year. The beds have culinary herbs, flowers and bushes in them that are all busy in the spring with butterflies, bees and birds. We do mix ornamentals with food-producing plants in the front and mix annuals with perennials so we have color for about 9 or 10 months. We have the bird feeders scattered near the bushes and dogwoods but they (birds and squirrels) also are allowed to enjoy the fruit and berries we grow and really only get supplementals during the winter. We just try to be faster early in the morning. We are a NWF wildlife habitat.

Our kitchen garden is in the back on a nice east/southeast facing slope. It does have a rabbit-proofed deer fence around it and lots of flying yellow ties and old CDs. The birds aren't bothered by either and visit regularly for a bug or two but it has, so far, kept the deer and rabbits out. We use deer fortress and garlic to discourage the deer from munching on the fruit trees and berries. We also grow aromatics amongst the flowers the deer like to eat. It seems to discourage them as well. Rabbits are another matter. Nothing discourages them except shooing them away and that only works for a day.

We also have more fruit producers in the back, along with native long-leaf pine, native dogwood, native azaleas, several varieties of oak and wild cherry. We have a huckleberry and quite a few volunteer blueberry that are primarily for the birds. Our blueberries are in the front so we can get to them faster! Any trees we add are either food for us or the wildlife or both.

The herb garden is still in the development stage but will also have some fruit and berry producers and flowers scattered among the tea and dye plants. I allow several areas in the back and on the sides to remain somewhat unkept or natural depending on who you talk to. The broom grass is allowed to grow tall and we have several brush piles, tree stumps and downed trees scattered around. One of the stumps has dewberries all over it which has become a favorite bird spot. Our Bob White population has increased by several since we moved here, as has the eastern bluebird. So has the mockingbird population but I wasn't necessarily trying to increase theirs. We also have many cardinals, bluejays, woodpeckers, finches, sparrows, warblers, titmouses and hummers. We know its spring when the whip-o-will can be heard every evening, usually for several weeks. Fly overs include hawks, eagles and a kite or two since we are less than a mile from the river and border a national forest.

Comment by JC on April 17, 2009 at 9:14am

Our country is being invaded by nonnative plants and wildlife, and they're threatening our natural ecosystems.

I just sent a message to ask my representative to cosponsor a bill to prevent even more invaders from harming our native wildlife and wild places.
In the coming days, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee is set to hold a hearing to consider the Non-native Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act-- legislation that would support stronger regulation of non-native wildlife imports.
Each year, millions of live wild animals enter our country. But when some escape, or are released into the wild, they can harm native wildlife and wild places -- including many endangered species. Furthermore, these invaders can cost America more than $100 billion a year and a countless cost to our natural world.
We're already seeing the harm that non-native invaders can cause, so it's important that we prevent even more dangerous invasions -- before they start.

Please ask your representative to be a champion for America's wildlife too.
visit http://online.nwf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Action_Headquarters

Comment by Robyn Renz on April 1, 2009 at 11:23am

My veggies are in the front yard and my backyard is a NWF backyard habitat

Comment by Susan Singley on March 11, 2009 at 7:20am

Signs of Spring in Maryland:
Birds are pulling the long grasses I left standing in the gardens. Bees are visiting the witch hazel blooms and the tops of maples. The hens are digging up worms and grubs which have begun moving toward the surface. Buds are swelling on the apple trees, willows, and elderberries. And, my mailbox has fallen over with the weight of seed catalogs. The ones already in the house are covered with notes and circles as the size of my dream garden takes over the whole yard and both my neighbors.....

I have been slowly changing the lawn that came with the house into native plant gardens, and vegetables. It is slow work, but year by year more of the lawn is no more and the semi-wild areas spread.

Anyone else seeing Spring arrive on the wings of goldfinches and seed catalogs?

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