by Eve Smith and Karen Cole, Urban Wildlife Biologist
Source: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Go look out the window for a moment. What do you see in your backyard? If it's like most Arkansans', it's probably a well-manicured lawn landscaped with an oak or hickory and a few scattered shrubs. Maybe some cardinals or chickadees are enjoying a snack at the feeder. Now imagine this: hummingbirds skipping from flower to flower, sipping nectar from a bright orange trumpet creeper; a downy woodpecker drumming in the thick branches of a black gum; squirrels darting up and down the oak tree collecting acorns for winter; winter colors enhanced by red, green, and white as mockingbird devours the crimson berries on a evergreen shrub. And it's all happening in your backyard.
With a little time and money, this can be more than just a dream. Whether you have a three-acre yard in the country or a windowsill outside a city apartment, it can become a haven for wildlife. The kind and number of animals attracted depends on the size of the yard, the plants chosen and their placement. All animals, from tree frogs to deer require food, water, and cover. A backyard wildlife manager's goal is to provide these habitat requirements by creating a natural system enabling wildlife to care for itself.
First, inventory your yard and the benefits it provides wildlife. Are there berry and nut producing trees and shrubs? Is there a water supply? Does the yard have shrubs with overhanging branches, evergreens, briars or thickets where wildlife can find shelter?
Second, decide what types of wildlife you hope to attract and what habitat requirements must be provided for them. While it's doubtful that wild turkeys will be attracted if you live in the city, there are many songbirds, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians that can be attracted. Even apartment window boxes can be planted with flowers attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Backyard wildlife managers with heavily wooded yards probably won't attract nesting bluebirds, meadowlarks or birds common to grasslands, yet their yards can be full of creatures that people in open areas can't hope to attract.
After reviewing your backyard habitat and deciding what types of wildlife you want, its time to develop a backyard wildlife management plan. Mapping your yard and planning plantings, helps develop a yard that maximizes benefits to both you and the wildlife.
Sketch the yard on paper showing existing trees and shrubs, power lines, patios and buildings. Then, after reviewing the lists of plants beneficial to the desired wildlife (these lists are available from the Commission's Urban Wildlife Section), add these to the backyard map. Keep in mind the mature height of the plantings. Don't plant tall trees where they interfere with power lines. And don't place berry-producing trees and shrubs next to patios or driveways where messy fruit poses a problem.
Trees can benefit you as well as wildlife. Evergreens, like cedar and pine trees, planted north of the house can decrease heating bills by protecting your home from cold winter winds. Tall shade trees planted along the west side of the house will filter out the hot afternoon sun and decrease summer cooling costs.
Leave enough open space to provide viewing areas. These areas also serve as open space for wildlife. Many animals require open areas for sunning and hunting insects. Larger trees should be planted in back, with smaller trees, shrubs and flowers layered progressively in the front. Vary the heights of plantings for a visually pleasing effect.
The following requirements must be provided for wildlife.
Food
Each animal has its own food preferences, and these change seasonally. Providing an abundance and variety of wildlife foods year-round will attract and support many wild creatures.
Fruits, nuts, and seeds are relished by wildlife and can be easily provided. Nut and berry producing trees and shrubs provide the foundation for most backyard wildlife manager's plans. Fruits of different trees and shrubs remain on plants for varying lengths of time. Blackberries and dogwood fruit are eaten soon after ripening. However, holly and viburnum berries are more persistent and remain on the plant well into winter when other fruits are gone. The backyard wildlife area should contain shrubs with both early and persistent fruits to provide wildlife food through late winter.
Hummingbirds and butterflies feed on flower nectar. Plant a butterfly and hummingbird flower garden (containing such flowers as allysum, butterfly weed, scarlet sage and petunias) in an open area with easy observation and ample sunlight. Apartment dwellers can turn window boxes and patios into mini wildlife areas for colorful butterflies and hummingbirds by planting nectar-producing flowers.
Many backyard animals are predators. In fact, most birds, including hummingbirds, feed on insects as well as seeds and berries. Backyard wildlife managers can allow these natural "pest controllers" to take care of insect problems, reducing the need for chemical insecticides. Insects are necessary to the backyard wildlife area. They're important high-protein food for feeding nestlings and the only food source for some animals. If insecticides must be used, use pyrethrum-based sprays. They aren't harmful to birds or mammals.
One of the most common ways to attract backyard wildlife is through feeding. Bird feeders supplement seasonal food lapses and are especially helpful to wildlife in late winter and early spring when natural food supplies are lowest. In spring and summer, hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water bring these tiny birds right up to your window. Keep in mind, however, that a natural food supply is more likely to make wildlife a permanent resident of your yard than feeding stations.
Cover
Cover is as essential to wildlife survival as food. It provides protection from predators and bad weather, and acts as a safe home base for resting and raising young. Locate cover within 10-15 feet of food and water.
Different animals have different shelter and nesting cover requirements. Dense shrubs protect most wildlife species; mature trees and snags are needed by squirrels and birds; rocks and woodpiles are used by small mammals, snakes and lizards; and water and wetland areas are a must for frogs and turtles. For many creatures, the best year-round protection is thick, thorny and evergreen.
While nesting requirements may be the same as shelter, this isn’t always true. Rabbits, upland songbirds, quail and many other creatures require unmown grass or wildflower areas for nesting and rearing young. Nesting areas should be located adjacent to thick protective cover. To supplement available nesting habitat, put up birdhouses to serve as artificial nesting cavities. Squirrels, wrens, bluebirds and chickadees, to name a few, will readily adapt to nesting in manmade houses.
Water
Water is a wildlife requirement that can be supplied in something as simple as an inverted garbage can lid or as elaborate as a pond. Ponds attract birds and also provide homes for reptiles and amphibians. Cover located close to the edge of a pond and shallow water vegetation increase water’s attraction to wildlife.
In most backyard wildlife areas, birdbaths are the simplest way to provide water. Place them 10-15 feet from cover, and make sure they have gently sloping sides that shouldn’t be more than four inches deep. Birds prefer a rough surface when bathing, so place a few pebbles in the bath’s bottom. Running or dripping water is an added attraction and can be supplied with a fountain or a dripping hose attached to an overhanging branch.
Water supplies require year-round maintenance. A winter freeze robs animals of water, so break ice during cold days. A livestock watering trough heater or aquarium heater placed in a birdbath will prevent this. In addition to its wildlife value, a birdbath or small cement pond can provide a focal point in your landscape. Position it to provide maximum visibility from your porch or window.
Management
Now that the backyard wildlife area is planned, it’s time to begin work. If you’re a gardener with limited experience, ask the county extension agent or local nurseryman for advice. They can provide information about planting, maintenance and, most importantly, what plants grow best in the area. Arkansas has unpredictable weather and plants thriving in south Arkansas may not withstand an Ozark winter.
Soil conditions are also important. Some plants tolerate almost any soil type, while others require more exacting conditions. Easy to use soil testing kits can be purchased at most larger nurseries and garden centers.
As the years go by and your backyard wildlife are matures, you’ll see a change in the number and kinds of wildlife frequenting it. Keep in mind that every bird migrating through Arkansas won’t visit your backyard. A limited number of animals can use a single yard as a home or resting area. Do the best with the available resource, whether it’s a yard of several acres or a window box outside an apartment. Learn to enjoy the wildlife frequenting even the smallest area.
Managing a backyard wildlife area is enjoyable, but for some animals can become nuisances. Problems may arise when squirrels start frequenting your attic, blue jays compete with other birds for food or rabbits feed in the garden. If an undesirable situation arises, you can accept it or control it.
If control is the choice, remove the bothersome animal or change the habitat attracting it. Discourage rabbits by fencing the garden or planting clover in a far corner of the yard to attract them away from your crops. Keep brush far away from the garden because it simply provides the food and cover they prefer. A squirrel in the attic may provide an incentive for repairing the roof. Check for a nest before closing up any entrance. “Wildlife-proof” your home by screening attic openings and chimneys and close openings under buildings where skunks and opossums can reside.
Pets may kill or harass backyard wildlife. Their actions can be controlled by chaining the dog, putting a bell on the cat or fencing the yard.
In a few years, you should see an amazing transformation in the backyard. The lawn should blossom into a garden teeming with birds, butterflies, flowers and fruit. Your children will have an outdoor laboratory to observe the cycle of life. And you’ll have created a natural system enabling animals to care for themselves.
You’ll also benefit. Property values rise from 3-10% with the addition of vegetation and tree cover. Tall trees cut down on noise and dust pollution and decrease heating and cooling bills by providing windbreaks and shade.
Most rewarding of all, however, is the feeling of pride experienced from doing your part for conservation. Natural resources have declined due to negligence and abuse. It often seems there’s little we can do as individuals. Yet by developing your own backyard wildlife habitat area and encouraging others to follow suit, you’ll make a considerable contribution. And this contribution is made in the environment that means the most to you—your own backyard.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Backyard Wildlife Program
If your backyard is for the birds and squirrels, butterflies, chipmunks, turtles, and other wild creatures you can be recognized for your contribution to wildlife in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Backyard Wildlife Program.
You can certify your property as a Backyard Wildlife Area by explaining how you have improved habitat for wildlife in your backyard, apartment balcony or even around the office building. An application for certification, as well as information explaining how to provide food, water, shelter, and nesting areas for wildlife is available from the Commission by writing or calling the Urban Wildlife Section, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, #2 Natural Resources Dr., Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, Phone 501-223-6353.
Backyard wildlife managers will receive a certificate designating their yard as a Backyard Wildlife Area and a “My backyard is for the birds…and all wildlife” bumper sticker.
