Provide habitat for critters

#MiddleburyCT #MLT #BrushPile

This mature brush pile has a base of large branches topped with smaller ones. Leafy branches and woody debris from the garden are added periodically. It provides a bonanza of shelter, nesting places and food to a wide range of wildlife and birds. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

Thanks to a reader for suggesting this month’s subject: considering our yards and gardens as valuable parts of a healthy ecosystem and habitat for native creatures. To be fair, such actions can be a bit fraught. But it can be done successfully – without estranging our neighbors. And every little bit helps. As with trading non-natives for native plants, it doesn’t have to be “all or nothing.” And many aspects of creating suburban habitat are easy and could almost be considered “benign neglect.”

Let’s start with lawns. Huge swaths of monoculture grass are an environmental wasteland. They support nothing (except perhaps the fertilizer companies). Consider replacing some sections with native plantings, which have the added benefit of needing less fuss – they are already adapted to this environment. For example, native milkweeds are the only things that monarch butterflies can live on, providing leaves for laying their eggs and providing food for their babies (aka caterpillars) and nectar for the adults.

Those native plant beds, left undisturbed over the winter and into mid-spring also provide the winter homes for many native bees and pollinators. Notice how many have hollow stems: that’s where those small insects go to make it through the winter. The seeds and berries left behind feed birds that over winter up here and migrating birds returning in the spring. Native species of shrubs and trees provide the right places for our native birds to build their nests.

If you want to help the nest-builders, you can even put out materials they can use. The Audubon Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommend avoiding dryer lint because it disintegrates in rain, leaving dangerous holes in the nest that can cause it to collapse, it is packed with residue from laundry detergents, fabric softeners, and artificial dyes that are toxic to tiny birds and hatchlings and loose lint dust is easily inhaled by birds, leading to choking or severe respiratory distress. Also avoid offering human hair, yarn, string, or pet fur (which may contain flea and tick medications), as these can entangle birds and restrict circulation. Safe, natural options you can provide in a suet cage or mesh bag are: small twigs and dry leaves, pine needles and dried grass, mosses and lichens and untreated short pieces of natural fibers (like sisal or hemp cut into 4-inch pieces).

If you have a place for it in your yard, a brush pile is a bonanza for many kinds of wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refers to them as “habitat piles.” A brush pile is the easiest thing in the world to build along a wooded edge or back of your property. (Please make sure these do not infringe on anyone else’s property; that goes straight to the fraught part mentioned above.) It’s basically whatever woody debris you might have (branches, twigs, old Christmas trees) plus any leaves you can add. Find detailed instructions for building brush piles at portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Brush-Piles-for-Wildlife.

The result provides shelter for small mammals, amphibians and reptiles, and of course thereby providing for the rest of the food chain that eats them. Many birds use them as cover and as a food source, and some will even nest there. Over time, the decaying base returns nutrients to the soil.

Brush piles are fabulous natural resources for wildlife. But there are also many man-made resources you can provide. Putting bird houses (aka nest boxes) in the yard provides nesting spots for species such as bluebirds and owls who find fewer of their nesting requirements in the area. Even bats can benefit from specially designed dwellings. Homes for bees, including our native mason bees, can be purchased or made.

The last requirement for your backyard ecosystem is water. A birdbath provides water for birds and many other kinds of wildlife. At least one part of the birdbath, or a separate shallow one, can be adapted for bees and butterflies by filling with small rocks or marbles – a kind of critter barstool for safely sipping. Winter can be a tough time for birds to find unfrozen water, and heated birdbaths available. We have one, and it is wonderful to see birds or squirrels sipping from the frost- or snow-rimmed container in deep winter.

You can go all out and become a National Wildlife Federation certified backyard habitat, or do just one thing. Humans have messed with nature big time; it’s nice to do a little something to give back.

For questions or comments, contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com. You can visit the Middlebury Land Trust on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org. Meanwhile, Happy Hiking!