Think of your wildlife landscape as a one-stop shop for birds, hummingbirds and butterflies. Ideally, when they fly in for a drink or a snack, they’ll find their other needs are met in your garden and choose to stay there. A landscape that sustains will offer a complete habitat, supporting and protecting all the wildlife living within it.
A
water feature in your garden will provide more than a drink to your feathered visitors; it’s also a place to bathe.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
When winter arrives and snow covers the ground, fruiting shrubs like
holly provide a good food source for feathered friends. The berries are filled with stored sugar and the oily seed that birds require.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/Donna Krischan
Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs are popular for such birds as waxwings. To provide an even flow of food, plant trees that fruit progressively throughout the season.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Birdhouses make good substitutes for hollows in trees and nesting spots in rock niches that visiting birds will appreciate. (Just remember that some species also nest on the ground, in burrows, in hanging locations or atop posts.)
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/Donna Krischan
Sustenance of a species within your landscape requires long-season food sources, even year-round supplies. Many birds will come to your yard in search of food; when your landscape contains groupings of summer, autumn and winter fruits, plus several supplementary feeding stations, these avian visitors can become long-term residents. To draw a wide range of birds, position feeding stations high for wary species, vertically along trunks for perching varieties and near the ground for birds that browse for their food. Feeding stations are most attractive when they have space around them. Among the most endangered bird species are those that forage on the ground; they become easy prey unless they’re provided protection.
Consider adding a perching spot near but away from the feeding area itself. Birds visiting for the first time will perch for a few minutes to study the terrain and surroundings for danger. Once they satisfy themselves that the area is free of hazard, they’ll join in the feeding.
Flying visitors generally need spots to perch and bathe. A perching wire stretched between two poles or a perching post will increase the birds you see and the length of their visits. Ponds of all sizes, or other water features such as bog gardens or fountains, will attract and keep birds in your yard.
While birds and butterflies are well-suited to life outdoors, they still seek shelter in various forms throughout the year. There are a variety of plantings and garden features to consider when you want to attract birds or butterflies to your premises.
Examine your yard. It should comprise an overstory of trees with high foliage in a few areas; a midstory of shrubs, bushes and tall flowering plants beneath the trees, along fences and in borders; and an understory of grass, groundcover and low-growing flowering annuals and perennials. Your garden also may offer areas of full sun, partial shade and shade, allowing you to grow many different plant species. If some of these habitat zones are missing from your garden, you may add them by installing new features that are designed to attract wildlife.
Encourage birds to linger in your landscape by offering them perches for nesting and hiding, and plan to include areas for ground browsing that are safe from predators. A single large evergreen tree – a fir or cedar, for example – a trio of lilacs or a grouping of hollies can afford birds these advantages. Leave faded perennial plant stalks dried flower heads in the garden over winter to provide loose nesting material and a food source, and install nesting boxes and birdhouses to shelter birds – not just for a day or two but to encourage them to stay – where they’re protected from household pets and away from foot traffic and in children’s play areas. Garden structures such as shade pergolas, arbors, arches and trellises are usually well-visited by birds, too, and sometimes support a nest or two.
Dense shrubs and hedges, especially evergreen species, are excellent bird shelters, offering protection from extreme cold weather and the strong winds that commonly accompany the onset of winter. Winter-hibernating butterflies often shelter in protected tree hollows or cluster under foliage. Even a dead tree – if it’s located at a safe distance from your home or paths – is an asset, providing refuges from inclement weather, food sources and perching spots for migratory birds.
Offering shelter, in addition to a constant and ample supply of food and water, is a crucial step in turning your garden habitat into a haven that draws all sorts of birds and butterflies – and encourages them to stay.
