Backyard Wildlife Primer
(Page 11 of 14)
September/October 1986
By Raymond Zoanetti and the Mother Earth News editors
Hummingbirds, which can be attracted in almost all parts of the country by providing a source of nectar, require special feeders that dispense a solution of sugar water. It's best to locate such feeders near natural nectar sources such as honeysuckle or fuchsia because, like any confection, sugar water provides only a quick source of energy and little or no protein. Also, be sure to boil the sugar solution, and to clean the dispensers with hot water frequently — twice a week is ideal — to prevent harmful molds from developing. One more caution: Don't use honey solutions in hummingbird feeders; honey can foster bacteria that cause a fungus to grow on the birds' beaks.
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If you find that your seed feeders are dominated by pigeons, sparrows, grackles, cowbirds, and other large or aggressive species, while the smaller songbirds are kept at a distance, scatter some feed (cracked corn, stale bread, white millet) on the ground a few yards from the stations to draw the bigger birds away — or simply add more feeders to reduce the competition. If squirrels and chipmunks become a problem at your feeders, you can keep them from pole-mounted stations by placing a metal collar or an inverted plastic flower pot on the pole just below the feeder. If the robbers are climbing from a branch to get at a hanging feeder, wrap a metal sleeve around a portion of the limb. Or better yet, offer the critters their own food: an ear of corn placed on a nail in a tree, or some peanut kernels scattered near cover.
Food plots — small patches of cultivated grasses, grains, or garden crops intended for wildlife — offer both advantages and disadvantages. If your property already provides a diverse menu from natural vegetation, or if you keep a variety of feeders well stocked with nourishing edibles, a food plot may be unnecessary. But if for some reason you can't fill feeders regularly, and if there's little other food-bearing vegetation to provide sustenance, a planted patch may be the answer. Several small, irregular plots (50 to 100 square feet) are better than one large area. Use a mixture of early- and late-seeding varieties of grasses and grains appropriate to your region: lespedeza, grain or cane sorghum, buckwheat, millet, dwarf corn, bobwhite soybean. Simply till the soil lightly and broadcast the seed. An alternative to planting food plots exclusively for wildlife: Plant buckwheat, rye, or other cover crops in your garden as space becomes available (and don't plow them under until spring), and let late-maturing vegetables go to seed.
You've Only Just Begun
More than a mere virtue, patience is a necessity when it comes to creating and maintaining wildlife habitat. There is simply no rushing nature. If you're starting from scratch with an open expanse of lawn, don't expect a stampede of home-hungry birds and animals to your yard in the first year-or even in the first two or three years. At the outset, only a few sparrows may visit your feeders, and perhaps a squirrel or two will occasionally lope across your lawn. But gradually, over time and with your careful nurturing, you'll find yourself host to a growing wildlife population. That once-barren yard, besides simply looking better with abundant color and greenery, will come alive with the sights and sounds of creatures that — without your care — might not have survived, or might never even have been born. And in return, those creatures will give you and your children countless hours of enjoyment, of watching and learning about nature and about the roles all beings play in it. Inevitably, managing your property for wildlife becomes a way of life, a continuing exploration of a world both astonishingly simple and complex.
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