Share Your Wildlife Habitat Story
Share Your Story
| Share Your Wildlife Habitat Story What have you done to attract wildlife to your yard? What kind of wildlife do you see? Share your wildlife habitat story! Why not join over 100,000 folks across the country who have created a wildlife-friendly haven for neighborhood animals and create an official NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat™? Learn more! |
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| Cristy M from GA | ||||
4029 |
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In last year's Backyard Bird Count I counted 23 species of birds. My regular visitors are cardinals, tufted titmouse, brown-headed nuthatch, chickadees, blue jays, house finches, American goldfinch, cowbirds, chipping sparrows, downy woodpeckers, brown thrashers, mourning doves, starlings, bluebirds, robins, Carolina wrens, mockingbirds; from time to time we see hummingbirds, dark-eyed junco, northern flicker, yellow rumped warblers, and a Cooper's hawk. We have a family of chipmunks, a squirrel or two, and a mouse that needs to go away. I set out 3 suet cages, 4 birdhouses, 6 feeders, 2 birdbaths, and 2 fountains. The backyard has a variety of landscaping, which also attracts butterflies. Our yard is only 1/4 acre, but chock-full of nature's beauty and joy in observing from the convenience of the recliner in the sunroom. |
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| Arkan S from DE | ||||
4026 |
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My home has approximately 1.5 acres of land. 80% of it is mature forest. I have lots of hickory, beech and oaks, and some polars and dogwoods. I have maintained my yard as wildlife friendly as possible; as a result I have 18 species of wild life livind in my yard. I am counting all the birds as one, plus all the reptiles a one, plus all the insects as one. That leaves 15 different species. My wife and I love to watch the wildlife live an play in our yard. |
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| Darlene W from TX | ||||
4022 |
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We have a plant nursery in Odessa, Texas (halfway between El Paso and Dallas). Our dry climate is a great place to grow Eupatorium Greggii which we have found to be the ultimate butterfly plant in the fall. We have enjoyed watching the Queens and Monarchs especially, and several other varieties are seen as well. |
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| Gail B from IL | ||||
4020 |
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We live in the city, but for the last few years we've tried to let our backyard go native. Much of the yard is covered in wild violets which provide a mow-free zone with no watering necessary. A volunteer plum tree and an apple tree provide a great deal of shade, fresh fruit and plenty of nectar to bees each spring. We keep a heated birdbath with clean water all year. A row of old pine trees at the back of the yard provide shelter, shade and seem to attract a lot of birds, who like to nest there. In addition, we keep feeders full all year for finches and other birds, and scatter seeds and peanuts for our ground-feeding visitors. Hummingbird feeders and a few potted annuals tend to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. This year alone, we were treated to two pairs of indigo buntings, grossbeaks, and a hawk that sat in our bird bath one morning. We get cardinals, bluejays, sparrows, chipping sparrows, chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinches, downy woodpeckers, robins, mourning doves, cowbirds, catbirds, grackles, starlings and wrens. Winter brings the juncos. We also have gray squirrels, brown squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, possums, the occasional raccoon and briefly this year, a groundhog. Two years ago we got to watch a flying squirrel who visited our suet feeder late one snowy night. This spring we found SIX morels growing around our apple tree. I look forward to adding to our backyard habitat and hope to introduce more native plants. Thanks for the great Website and encouraging others to appreciate nature. |
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| Betty W from SD | ||||
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4018 |
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My husband & I are both retired & enjoy the wildlife that venture into are yard. We live in the city, but we do get wildlife. I have a Honeysuckle vine planted on the fence & the Hummingbirds love it. We have a feeder that my husband made for the squirrels that we keep sunflower seeds in. It not only feeds the squirrels, but also cardinals, chickadees,& other birds. The sunflower seeds that were spilled out, rooted & we had a small forest of various sunflowers growing. We loved having them, as they really attracted the birds after they bloomed. It was so enjoyable setting at our patio table & watching them. Those sunflowers really attracted a variety of birds: a ladderback woodpecker, cardinals, chickadees, purple finches, even doves on the ground pecking at the seeds. There is a large walnut tree in the neighbors yard & the squirrels have been very busy gathering walnuts for the winter. I hope it isn't a sign of a bad winter to come. We also have a large birdbath that is often very crowded with various birds. My husband also built a bat house from directions I got off the computer. We really enjoy feeding, watering, & observing the wildlife that enjoy our yard. |
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