Your Yard a Wildlife Habitat

by San Diego on the Cheap Editor and Publisher Sheri McGregor

This time of year, the jasmine growing up all around my porch is blanketed in pale pink blooms. Their knock-out sweet scent wafts out into the crisp spring air, attracting everybody who  nears. Today, a couple of birds fluttered about in the flowery clumps that have all but covered the rain chains extending to the roof. I’ll have to watch and see if the birds are making a nest. If so, I’ll have a picture-window view as they go about their domestic bliss. The jasmine blooms last only a few weeks each year, so the petal pink sweetness will be just about spent as their baby birds emerge. I didn’t intend the jasmine as a place for birds, but their presence delights me.

What areas of your yard, patio, or balcony can you make attractive to birds or other wildlife? It’s fun to get children interested,  but even if you don’t have any kids around, creating an environment that attracts wild birds and other wildlife can provide hours of on-the-cheap pleasure. You’ll also know you’re doing something good for the animals, without a big investment. At a minimum, you’ll want to provide food sources and water. If you also provide areas for wild things to take cover and raise their young, you’ll have the basics needed to get your space certified as an official wildlife habitat by The National Wildlife Federation. More about that later, but first, let’s talk a little more specifically about catering to wildlife’s needs, even in the city.

Even in an apartment with a balcony, setting out a few potted plants and a small fountain or a shallow dish of water may attract passing birds. Add a feeder and you’ll be singing along with some new feathered friends you can watch from indoors. A hanging planter may provide a good nesting spot.

In a bigger space, consider adding native plants. Even small yards make good homes for native plants, because they come in so many shapes and sizes. There’s something for everybody in our native plant community. Drought tolerant, thriving on near neglect, attractive to native creatures, and beautiful. Who could ask for more?

In my inland North County yard, native willows, grasses, and flowers provide the birds with food that ripens at varying times, and gives them places to hide. A small pond and trickling fountain provide a water source that attracts a diverse variety of birds throughout the year. Tall fan palms host nesting owls, orioles, mockingbirds, and others, while an old agave spire that’s long since bloomed and dried in place provides a natural high pole in which woodpeckers drill and nest.

In our modern society, there’s a tendency to promptly manicure our hedges, cut back spent blooms, and clean up bramble. A yard for wildlife requires a little looser attitude. Go ahead and dead-head flowering shrubs to encourage a second bloom cycle, but let a few go to seed for the birds as well. Trim the branches and let a few lie at the base of a tree or bush for the nesting season.  The California towhees (and other birds) like to scratch about in the underbrush. Your manana attitude toward the cleanup gives lizards a place to scramble for cover. And a king snake or two, attracted to good hiding places, can do wonders in a gopher war.

Of course, be cognizant of any specific rules for your housing community, and make sure your yard doesn’t become a fire hazard (a worry here in San Diego).

To find out more about getting your garden certified for wildlife, and get your official sign from the National Wildlife Federation, see:
Certify Your Wildlife Garden

For more about native plants, see:
Native San Diego Plants: Hiking Trails
Las Pilitas, a native plant nursery with much information on native San Diego plant varieties

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