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Gardening for Backyard Wildlife: A Checklist

By Marci Hayden

To attract more wildlife to your yard, just add items from the four major Life Zones. As you look over the list, you may find that you already have some of these amenities in your backyard garden already. This list may also serve as a reminder to you when you think about moving a rock or brush pile. You may be disturbing somebody’s home!

Food

Natural foods and
supplemental feeders

Fruits
Seeds
Nuts
Berry bushes and vines
Nectar
Seed feeders
Nectar bottle

Water

For drinking, bathing,
and breeding

Natural pond
Stream
Vernal pool
Wetland garden
Birdbath
Small pond
Re-circulating waterfall
Shallow dish

Cover

Protection from weather
and predators

Deciduous shrubs
Evergreen shrubs
Deciduous trees
Evergreen trees
Rock pile
Log pile
Brush pile
Prairie/meadow patch

Nesting Areas

Places to raise
young

Nesting boxes
Nesting shelves
Butterfly host plants
Trees
Trees with cavities
Dead trees (snags)
Shrubs
Ponds
Brush piles
Amphibian house