Landscaping for Wildlife - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Landscaping for Wildlife
Sources and Resources
Enticing Wildlife into your Yard
Hennepin County Master Gardener Training
6 June 2005
John P. Loegering
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
College of Natural Resources
University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Natural Resources Department
University of Minnesota, Crookston
2900 University Avenue
Crookston, MN 56716-5001
218-281-8132, 218-281-8050 fax
Email: [email protected]
http://webhome.crk.umn.edu/jloegeri/outreach/
http://webhome.crk.umn.edu/jloegeri/outreach/MG/weblinks.htm
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„
Henderson, C. 1987. Landscaping for Wildlife. Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources, St. Paul. 149pp. Directed at home landscaping.
„
Henderson, C. L., C. Dindorf, F. Rozumalski. 1998. Lakescaping for
Wildlife & Water Quality. Minnesota Bookstore. 176pp. ISBN:
0964745127
„
Henderson, C. L. 1995. Wild About Birds. The DNR Bird Feeding Guide.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul. 278pp. ISBN 09647451-0-0
„
Henderson, C. L. 1992. Woodworking for Wildlife, Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources, St. Paul. 112pp.
„
All are available from the Minnesota Bookstore, 651.297.3000 [Twin Cities]
or 1.800.657.3757, http://www.comm.media.state.mn.us/bookstore/bookstore.asp
„
Many, many web sites – search on your own or check out my site (see 1st
page)
„
Minnesota DNR web site, conservation officer, or regional office
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Sources and Resources
Enticing Wildlife into your Yard
„
Advanced Options
… National
Wildlife Federation’s Backyard
Wildlife Habitat program at
http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/
… Cornell
Lab of Ornithology’s Citizen
Science programs at
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/
„
http://webhome.crk.umn.edu/jloegeri/outreach/mg/weblinks.htm
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Sources and Resources
on Wildlife Damage Management
Go see it!
„
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The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
„
Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage by Scott E. Hygnstrom,
Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson. 1994. University of Nebraska
Cooperative Extension
… This is the ‘bible’ for managing a variety of wildlife-human
interactions.
… Books ($45), CD-ROM ($43), or both ($65)
… http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu/handbook/handbook/
„
The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management at
http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu/
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Barryman Institute for Wildlife Damage Management at
http://www.berrymaninstitute.org/
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Many Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sites as well at
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/
… Wild
About Birds Exhibition (2005), including
Hummingbird Garden Display
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„
See some of our favorite annuals in this classic
garden for hummingbirds. These amazing birds
usually visit in the morning, but you can see the
plants anytime near the Sensory Garden entryway.
Growing June through mid-September
Your local garden center
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1
Four basic needs of wildlife
This is all Habitat for Wildlife
You can provide for one or more
„
Potential depends upon your property
Food - Nutritional needs change with age
and season
„ Water - Bird-baths, ponds, creeks, and
wetland – usually abundant in MN
„ Cover - Protection from adverse weather
and predators, places to raise young
„ Space - Home range or territory
requirements
„
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Landscaping for Wildlife Benefits
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Native plants and seeds
Wildlife Values!
Energy & Soil Conservation
„ Natural Beauty
„ Habitat for Kids
(exploration and appreciation)
„ Birdwatching
„ Photography, Windbreaks, Food
production, etc.
„
More readily recognized by wildlife
Adapted to climate
„ Require less maintenance
„ Ask at your local garden store, Extension
office, or soil and water conservation
district
„
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Plant Components of Wildlife
Habitat
Nut and
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Conifers (evergreens)
Wildlife Habitat Components
Conifers
Acorn Trees
„
Important shelter
… Winter
Grasses and
Legumes
Winter Plants
Summer nesting cover
„ Limited food
„ Pines, spruces, firs, arborvitae,
junipers, cedars, and yews
„
Fall Plants
Summer Plants
… Escape
Butterfly, Bee,
and Moth Plants
Hummingbird Plants
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2
Grasses and Legumes
Wildlife Habitat Components
Conifers
Wildlife Habitat Components
„
… Excellent
Common Juniper, Red (Norway) Pine
„
Scotch pine, northern white-cedar
… Moderate
… Low
„
Large yards and more rural areas
Ground nesting habitat
… Pheasants,
mallards, blue-winged teal,
meadowlarks, bobolinks, and vesper
sparrows.
Food and Cover
„
„
„
Balsam fir, eastern red cedar, all
spruces, eastern hemlock
value
„
Food/forage for herbivores
… Deer,
cottontail rabbits, woodchucks,
meadow voles, etc.
value
Canada Yew – Deer love it!
„
Avoid mowing or disturbance until 15 July
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Grasses and Legumes
Wildlife Habitat Components
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Butterfly, Bee, and Moth plants
Wildlife Habitat Components
Natives are better than the exotics
„ Switchgrass, bluestem, etc. (diversity!)
„
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Sources of great enjoyment and pride
Themes?
„
Butterflies
„
Bees – several species,
Moths
„
… Native
… Vigor
maintained by low-intensity burns
every 3-5 years
… Increasingly popular – seeding mixes are
more available.
„
… 200+
Exotics - brome, bluegrass, alfalfa,
sweet clover
… Generally
„
Attracting Butterflies to your Yard
species of day- and night-flying Sphynx
Moths (hawk or hummingbird moths) as well as
others
…
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Attracting Butterflies to your Yard
„
Design flower beds to provide several blooming
species at a time with flowers available from
spring to fall.
„
Some suggested species for nectar
Remember the Butterfly Life Cycle
…
species in Midwest!
… Several
lose vigor over time
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„
wildflowers, woodland wildflowers
Eggs – Caterpillar – Pupa – Adult
2 “species” in 1
Caterpillars - eat foliage and have species-specific
food requirements
Adults - feed on nectar and nectar-rich plants
(Appendix I in LFW)
… *Dogbanes
(Apocynum spp)
(Asclepias spp), especially the Common
(A. syraca) and Swamp (A. incarnata)
… Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
… Aster (Aster spp)
… Thistles, Goldenrods, Winter Cress, Joe Pye-weed
… *Milkweeds
„
You probably have 15 – 20 species in your yard.
>175 plant associates identified.
„
Arrive in Minnesota in early/mid-May through fall
„
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3
Monarch Larval Monitoring
Program
Monarch Larval Monitoring
Project
Search Milkweed plants for
different life stages
„ Eggs, caterpillars, adults
„ Citizen Science in Action
„
„
http://www.mlmp.org/
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Attracting Ruby-throated
Hummingbirds
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Hummingbird plants
As with butterfly gardens, design flower
beds to provide several blooming
species at a time with a succession of
flowers blooming from May through
September.
„ Most attractive are red,
tubular flowers with
abundant nectar
„ Fragrance not important
„
Fascinating Birds
RtHu - Only species in Mn
Arrives ~1 to 15 May
Wings at 200 beats per
second
Eats half its weight in food;
8x weight in fluid / day
„
Aggressive and territorial
„
Feed mostly on nectar and
small insects.
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© Roy Dunn, using Fotronix High Speed Flash
http://www.fotronix.com/
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Hummingbird plants
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Summer Food Plants for Wildlife
There are many, but here is a short list.
Early Flowering
„
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American columbine
(Aquilegia canadensis)
Petunia
(Petunia x hybrida)
Foxglove (Digtalis purpurea)*
Hardy fuchsia
(Fuchsia riccartoni)
‘firebird’ penstemon
(Penstemon gloxinoides)
Late Flowering
„
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Red (scarlet) bergamot
(Monarda didyma)
Cardinal flower
(Lobelia cardinalis)
Dwarf blue gentian (Gentiana
septemfida var. lagodechiana)
Scarlet trumpet honeysuckle
(Lonicera x brownii)
Plantain lily (Hosta spp)
Scarlet runner beans
(Phaseolus coccineus)
Salvia spp
Trumpet vine (Campsis
radicans)
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„
Fruit and berry
plants provide both
food and cover
Grapes and vines
enhance fences and
dead trees
Some form thickets
Wild plum
„ Choke cherry
„ Lilac-flowered
honeysuckle
„ Raspberry, blackberry
„ Juneberry/serviceberry
„
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Summer Food Plants
„
Summer Food Plants
„
Many species benefit
Fruit Trees
…
…
…
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„
…
…
…
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thrashers, gray catbirds, American robins,
cedar waxwings,
Tall Shrubs (15-25’)
…
…
E.g., mammals
… squirrel,
Medium Shrubs (10-15’)
…
E.g., songbirds
… brown
„
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Red mulberry
Amur chokechery
Black cherry
…
…
raccoon, red fox,
„
Manchurian bush apricot
Chokecherry
Birdcherrry
Alleghany serviceberry
Low shrubs (1-10’)
…
…
…
…
…
E.g., Invertebrates
„
Best Vines
…
… butterflies
Grapes (Beta and riverbank)
„
American plum
Siberian plum
Pin cherry
Nanking cherry
‘Scarlet’ Mongolian cherry
Sand cherry
Lilac-flowered honeysuckle
Raspberry
Elderberry
Best Forb
…
Strawberry
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Winter Food Plants
Fall Food Plants
„
„
Winter foods are most limiting to resident wildlife
Food value extends into winter if not eaten
Important for migratory species, and residents
… Red-osier dogwood
… gray dogwood ()
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…
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Structural Components of
Wildlife Habitat
Snags
Extremely important in some environments
HUGE long-term investment
…
* = “spinach” plants
„
Nut and Acorn Plants – “Mast”
„
„
„
()
… Cotoneaster ()
… Buffaloberry ()
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(Cornus stolonifera)
Grains (corn, wheat, oats) also used by many
species (100, 94, 91; respectively), but not
practical for most urban yards
Glossy black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa var. elata )
Siberian, ‘red-splendor,’ and ‘prairie fire’ crabapple (Malus
spp )
Common snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp)
Staghorn and smooth sumac (Rhus spp)*
Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)*
American highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum)*
Red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera)
Rose (Rosa spp)
„
… Winterberry
„
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Feeders
Up to 400 years of nuts and acorns
Cavities for nesting and roosting (96 species use cavities)
Water
„
White, Bur, Northern red oak (Quercus spp)
American and beaked hazel (Corylus spp)
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata)
Butternut (Juglans cinerea)
„
(Pine (Pinus spp) & Spruce (Picea) in some areas)
„
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Nest Boxes
Brush and
Rock Piles
Hardy in northern climates
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Cut Banks,
Cliffs and
Caves
Dust Beds
and Grit
Salt
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Snags, Logs, and Perches
Nest boxes
„
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Boxes and platforms used by 46 species.
Retaining snags and trees with cavities BEST!
Snags (standing dead trees) are
excellent wildlife trees;
not firewood!
… Primary
and Secondary cavity nesters
species of birds
… 26 species of mammals
Pair bluebird nest boxes
Entrance holes 1½ inches or less discourage
starlings
Place boxes away from feeders and predators
At least 6 feet off ground and away from
prevailing winds and direct sun
… 43
„
The bigger. the better
„
Create your own?
… At
least 6” in diameter & 15 feet tall
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Dust beds, grit, and salt
Brush and Rock Piles
Great escape cover, especially for rabbits,
woodchucks, weasels, and snakes.
„ Added components of diversity
„ Best if located ‘in the back corner’ of the lot
„
Many species use dust for bathing and
grit to grind their food
„ Can make platform or provide area on
ground
„ May attract cats
„
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Salt block could attract deer and even a
few birds (grosbeaks and crossbills).
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As Special note
on Bats
Cut banks, Cliffs, and
Caves
Odd features, not to create
but protect if you have them
„ Used by Belted kingfishers, Bank
swallows, Peregrine falcons, and bats.
„
„
Gardener’s Friend
… Eat
many moths and insects
Some are garden pests,
„ Some are the species we are attempting to attract
„
Very, very cute!
„ Bat house designs
are available
„
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Water
Feeding Wildlife
Availability may affect birds seen in your
yard
„ Adding water can double the number of
birds
„ Adding dripping or splashing water can
double the number again!
„
Not recommended for
mammals, Birds OK
„ Provide natural food sources where
possible
„ Most popular food for birds is
„
… black-oiled
„
… thistle
Maintenance issues seem
to be the biggest liability.
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Bird Feed
„
„
… black-oil
„
sunflower (cheap, favored, #1)
seeds (not so cheap)
Avoid mixed seeds with high sorghum or
millet content
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Suet – prized by woodpecker, and
songbirds
Commercially available in blocks
„ Ribcages from deer following the hunting
season are a wonderful resource
„
… Commercial
mixes are not economical
favored by platform feeding birds
… Sorghum (milo) eaten by very few
… Millet
„
Avoid mixed seeds with high sorghum or
milo content
Bird Feed
Most popular food for birds is
… thistle
sunflower (cheap)
seeds (not so cheap)
… Might
want to talk to your neighbors first
Many seeds might wind up on the ground –
ground feeding birds, squirrels, and rodents
will eat them.
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Recipes for Birdfeeding
Cleaning and maintenance
Easy Suet cakes
Songbird feeders - clean with dilute bleach
solution at least once a month
„ Hummingbird feeders - clean weekly with
weak vinegar solution
„ Keep seeds DRY!
„ Continue feeding through winter once
birds are attracted to your property
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2 lbs ground beef suet
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup oatmeal
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
Melt suet in a skillet or sauce pan,
mix in other ingredients. Pour
mixture into plastic margarine
containers to a depth of 1-2 inches
(or use mini-bunt pans for those
special Christmas gifts).
Refrigerate or freeze before
removing from the pan. Store in
freezer.
Hummingbird Nectar
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Dissolve 1 part sugar in 4 parts
boiling water, cool before you fill
the feeders
Red dye is not needed (most
feeders have red parts)
Store unused portion in a sealed
jar in the refrigerator
Do NOT use honey or corn syrup
Do NOT alter the ratio!
Feel free to experiment with
contents including dried fruit, nuts,
seeds, cornmeal, etc.
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Home Habitat Plan
Landscaping your yard for wildlife
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Set your objectives and priorities
Draw a map of your property
Review the 16 vegetative and structural
components
Confer with resource people and check
reference books
Develop your planting plan
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Avoid Fouling your Yard –
Plants to avoid
„
Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula)
„
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
…
…
„
1.
2.
Invasive noxious weed
3.
Invasive aquatic weed that
dominates wetlands
Buckthorn
(Rhamnus cathartica and R. frangula)
…
„
Landscaping your yard for wildlife
4.
Invasive, dominating shrub in woodlands
5.
Reed canarygrass
(Phalaris arundinacea)
…
6.
Very invasive in wet prairie areas, has little
wildlife value
7.
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8.
Set your objectives and priorities
Draw a map of your property
Review the 16 vegetative and structural
components
Confer with resource people and check
reference books
Develop your planting plan
Implement your Plan
Maintain your plan
Enjoy it!
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You, your neighbors, and
beyond
Obtain aerial photographs and/or
vegetation maps
„ Discuss objectives and future plans with
your neighbors
„ Consult state natural resources agency
biologists regarding the value of your land
in maintaining biodiversity on landscape
scale
„
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