Having Fun With Nature

Attracting Wildlife

 |   Birds   |  Butterflies |

Dragonfly

TIPS

SPACE 

Wildlife needs "useable space": they need to be able to hide, play, raise young. If a space is too neat, it probably won't be much good for attracting wildlife.

SHELTER 

There are many shelters, from nest boxes to brush piles. A compost pile can provide a wonderful shelter for Earth Snakes and vining vegetation can be a home for the Argiope or Garden Spider.

Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis

WATER 

Be sure that the water you supply doesn't drown small animals such as bees and butterflies. A few pebbles in a shallow pan of water does the trick.

SHELTER 

There are many shelters, from nest boxes to brush piles. A compost pile can provide a wonderful shelter for Earth Snakes and vining vegetation can be a home for the Argiope or Garden Spider.

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Space isn't just any space, it's space that can be used to hide, eat, raise young, and play. A Monarch instar found just the right space to secrete a chrysalis and emerge as a brand new Monarch butterfly.

Food varies for what you want to attract. Since different birds have different requirements and different butterflies have different requirements, we have separate pages for birds and butterflies.

Bushes with berries, flowers with nectar, and grasses that go to seed are all good natural food for wildlife.

To paraphrase from that baseball movie, "If you provide it, they will come."

[ Food
[ Water
[ Shelter
[ Space

Wildlife need 4 things to survive:

for 24 hours to dissipate the chemicals.

Occasionally, if we're not careful, other animals find our offer of water irresistable!

Moving Water

Argiope Weaving an Egg Sack

Water is good, but moving water is better. We hooked a recirculating pump and ran a line through the old iron pump. Birds loved it and would perch on the spout.

As mentioned in the tips, the photo on the left has pebbles to keep wasps, bee, butterflies and other inspects from drowning.

We have several watering stations for both birds and insects. We collect rainwater and use it for the animals. If we have to use tap water, we let it sit

Shallow Watering Station

FOOD 

Butterflies are very specific in their food needs. Planting the correct flowers will determine the butterflies you attract. Birds also have specific needs. For variety,  provide "basic" wild bird seed in some feeders and black oil sunflower seeds in others.

Finally, there are the manufactured shelters: nest boxes, bat boxes, etc. Texas Parks and Wildlife has a PDF booklet online with plans for building feeders and shelters. It's called "Providing for Backyard Wildlife"

Rat Snake in a Bucket with Water

Shelter can be natural, manufactured, or "contrived".

If you have a fallen tree or "snag", and have the space to leave it alone, it provides a wonderful natural shelter.

Brush piles are excellent "contrived" shelters. We have 4 or 5 throughout the farm. The brush provides a home for voles and mice and a hiding space for songbirds. Sometimes even mam bobcat and her young can find shelter in a brush pile.

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