Six Ways to Make Your Outdoor Space Winter Wildlife Friendly
In colder months, animals need our help more than ever, but with a few simple steps, you can ensure mammals, birds, insects, and amphibians thrive. Read our tips below to discover how you can turn your garden, porch, or patio into a place of refuge.
Photo by Jenny Burdette/GNPA
1. Fill Your Feeders
This is an easy one to accomplish no matter where you live, and according to our friends at Green Matters, bird watching can seriously increase your happiness levels. Place them near your windows so you can watch your feathered friends from afar, and make sure they’re protected from the wind. Providing birds with high-calorie foods like black oil sunflower seeds or suet will give them energy to survive cool winter nights, and if you’re worried about squirrels hogging all the goods, choose a feeder modeled to keep them away.
2. Provide Fresh Water
Food isn’t the only resource that’s scarce in the winter. Placing a bird bath in your yard will provide all sorts of creatures with the drinking water they need to survive, and it will also give birds a space to rinse off. Did you know bathing insulates their feathers and helps them stay warm? Many stores offer heated options if you’re worried about ice forming on the top, and if you’re working with a smaller space, you can set out water in a plate or drainage lid from an old planter.
3. Buy (or Create) A Bird Box
If you place a nesting box in your yard, smaller songbirds like wrens and blue birds will use them as shelter during colder months. They may even return in the spring to raise their babies! (Can you imagine a more adorable pandemic activity then watching them grow up?) Make sure to place your box in a space free from direct sunlight, heavy rains, or strong winds, and in an area where cats won’t be able to reach it. If you’re looking for an additional project, try creating your own with spare materials from your garage or toolshed.
4. Build a Brush Pile
Tree branches, leaves, and other yard clippings can provide excellent shelter for all sorts of neighborhood critters. Birds and small mammals like rabbits will appreciate the extra cover from cold winds and predators, and you might find that turtles, salamanders, and insects use it as a place to hibernate. Butterflies, moths, and other pollinators often winter and lay eggs in this type of environment as well.
5. Save Your Seeds
In the South, because of the warmer climate, it seems like there’s always yard work to be done. Although you may be inclined to snip your perennials as they decline and make your yard tidy until spring arrives, we think you should reconsider. Many birds feed on native seed heads or grasses throughout the winter months, and letting other dead plants stick around can also provide them with insect larvae to snack on.
6. Leave those Leaves Alone
We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again: put that rake back on its hook and save yourself a backbreaking chore! A healthy layer of leaves and soil will not only provide mulch for your plants, but creates an entire habitat for animals like snails, worms, toads, and lizards. This is also a huge overwintering place for pollinators, who you’ll want in your yard full force in the spring and summer months. If you can’t resist, at least settle for placing them in your garden beds or the corners of your yard. You’ll find that by doing so, you’re supporting the circle of life!