WHICH WILDLIFE NEEDS WHAT…

The ideal method of enticing wildlife to stay is by catering to their tastes. So turn your property (or at least part of it) into something similar to the mix of flora (flowers, herbs, weeds, grasses, shrubs, and vines) that occurs in their natural habitats.

 Some basic rules of thumb for copying nature are:

• Use native plants. The wildlife will thrive best and these plants usually require less in the way of maintenance than imports.
• The more habitat edges you create, the more wildlife you are likely to have. An edge is where one kind of habitat meets another (e.g. where grass meets trees). The more natural looking, the better with irregular boarders and curved lines.
• Combine different heights of plants. Use short and tall trees, short and tall shrubs, flowers of various sizes and ground cover. 

 Here are just a few of the animals that you might play host to in your backyard.

 

Species	Natural Food	Preferred Habitat
American Toad	Insects	Loose soil, cool daytime temperatures
Western Painted Turtle	Crayfish, insects, mollusks	Deep pools w/muddy bottoms, sunning spots
Big Brown Bat	Insects (beetles)	Buildings & trees near meadows and residential areas
Little Brown Bat	Aquatic Insects	Caves & buildings near rivers, lakes, marshes
Butterfly	Insects (moths)	Farmlands, suburbs, other residential areas
Mason Bee	Flower nectar	Gardens, orchards, fields
Deer Mouse	Seeds, nuts, fruit, insects	Woodland edges, brush piles
White Footed Mouse	Seed, nuts, vegetation	Woodland edges, logs, brush piles
Cottontail Rabbits	Grasses, dandelion	Woodland edges, brush piles
Fox Squirrel	Pine cones, seeds, mast*	Deciduous woodland
Gray Squirre	Mast* , seeds, berries	Woodlands, parks, suburban yards
Red Squirrel	Mast* , seeds, insects	Conifer woodlands (spruce, pine, hemlock)
American Kestrel	Insects, sm.mammals, birds	Open areas, forest edges to city
Barred Owl	Sm. mammals, reptiles, etc	Conifer & deciduous forest, wood swamps
Boreal Owl	Birds, sm. Mammals	Conifer & deciduous forest, bogs
Eastern Screech Owl	Fish, insects, sm. Mammals	Near water
Saw-Whet Owl	Sm. mammals, insects	Forests, thickets, groves
Western Screech Owl	Sm. mammals, birds, etc.	Woods, scrub, orchard
American Robin	Fruits, earthworms, insects	Woods, residential areas, swamps
Barn Swallow	Insects	Farmland, residential areas
Black-capped Chickadee	Insects, fruits, seeds	Wood edges, gardens
Carolina Wren	Insects, seeds	Gardens, thickets
Downy Woodpecker	Insects	Mixed woods, suburbs & towns
Eastern Bluebird	Insects, fruits	Farms, wood edges, orchards
Eastern Phoebe	Flying insects	Open woods, farms, roadsides
Great Crested Flycatcher	Insects, berries, sm. Fruit	Woodlands, groves
Hairy Woodpecker	Adult & larval beetles, ants	Open woods with mature trees & snags
House Wren	Insects, seeds	Gardens, farms, woods, thickets
Mourning Dove	Seeds, grains	Open woods, residential areas
Northern Flicker	Ants, insects, wild fruits	Woods, shrubs
Purple Martin	Flying insects	Farms and areas near water
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Insects, seeds	Conifer forests
Red-Head Woodpecker	Insects, acorns, wild fruits	Grove, farms, towns
Tree Swallow	Flying insects, berries, seeds	Near water
Tufted Titmouse	Insects, seeds, fruits, mast*	Deciduous woods, swamps
Western Bluebird	Insects, weeds, fruits, seeds	Deserts, farms, open woods
White-Breasted Nuthatch	Insects, seeds, mast*	Mixed forests to suburbs
Canada Goose	Insects, marsh/aquatic plants, grains	Ponds, rivers, bays, fields
Mallard	Seeds, leaves	Edges of lakes, ponds, & sometimes fields
Wood Duck	Acorns, insects	Wooded swamps, marshes, near water
Rubythroat Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird	All Hummingbirds are nectar feeders although they also enjoy an occasional insect snack. Here are some flowers that are favorites:  Salvia, Bee Balm, Flowering Tobacco, Latana, Honeysuckle, Aloe, Fuchsias, Columbine.	The commercial feeders scattered in several locations will also help encourage these unique birds to make repeat visits.

Mast* includes acorns, beechnuts, and other nuts accumulated on the ground underneath trees.