How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Yard

Megan Dettenmaier, Extension Associate, and Michael Kuhns, Extension Specialist

12/01/2013

Birds and other wildlife lose habitat as cities and human activities expand. You can reduce some of these negative impacts and increase the value of your yard and garden to wildlife by providing their four basic requirements: food, water, cover, and a safe place to rear young.

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Habitat can be hard to come by for wildlife in urban areas. A wildlife-friendly yard provides food, water, cover, and a safe place to rear young.

Food

Native forbs, shrubs and trees provide food for wildlife and birds with their foliage, nectar, pollen, fruit (berries, seeds, nuts, etc.), and bark. You can select the landscape plants that will attract the birds and other wildlife you want to encourage from the list at the end of this fact sheet. When food is scarce in winter it can be helpful to place feeders for birds in your yard to supplement naturally occurring food. You can also attract butterflies to your yard by supplementing their food sources. Mix 9 parts water to 1 part sugar, pour the mixture over cut up old, mushy fruit–oranges, peaches or pears–on a plate and suspend the plate high in a tree to prevent unwanted wildlife from disturbing the feeder. Hummingbirds are attracted to red, tubular flowers and feeders can provide food when flowering species are scarce. Information on hummingbird feeders, nectar recipes and the importance of maintaining clean feeders can be found online.

Bird on fat cake

Homemade Fat Cakes for Birds

Warm 1 part fat (lard or suet) in a heavy-bottomed pan, then mix in 2 parts dry mix (any combination of bird seed, cornmeal, unsalted seeds and nuts) and stir. Poke a hole in the bottom of a single serving yogurt cup, thread string through the hole, and press the warm suet mixture into the cup around the string. Place filled cups in the freezer and when hardened, cut the yogurt cup away and hang the cake in a tree. Kitchen scraps, such as bits of fruit or vegetables, may be used in the fat cake, but avoid salty items such as salted nuts or bacon. Unsalted peanut butter may be added to the mixture along with equal parts dry mix. You can also collect large pine cones, tie a string to one end, press fat mixture onto the cone, and suspend from a tree.

Water

Installing a water source in your yard is a simple way to benefit wildlife and birds. Clean water is essential but often not available in the arid West. Provide water in a bird bath or other water feature. Anything that will hold water will work, like a hubcap or a similar shallow basin. Remember to clean the water source weekly and change the water two to three times a week.

Water basin

Cover

Birds and other wildlife require cover to be safe from predators, weather, and people. Increasing plant structure between the ground and tree canopies with shrubs and non-woody plants is called vertical layering. By creating a multi-layered vegetation structure in your yard, you can provide cover for a variety or birds, other wildlife, and insects. Choose native plant species when possible (see list at the end of this fact sheet). When pruning vegetation and mowing your lawn, let some areas or branches go uncut. They will provide seeds and cover for small species such as insects, frogs, and other amphibians.

Safe Place to Rear Young

It takes a lot of energy for wildlife to successfully rear young in the wild. This effort increases when safe nesting spots are scarce. You can ease some of this pressure for nesting species by placing birdhouses, bat boxes or nest boxes in your yard.

Woodpeckers, nuthatches, creepers and wrens require cavities for nesting. Leaving dead snags on the landscape will benefit these species, although large snags can be dangerous. To determine the best birdhouse design to incorporate into your yard, see recommendations from the National Wildlife Federation. Type “birdhouse” in the search feature.

You can contribute to a long-standing database on birds currently being collected by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Visit nestwatch.org and record the species you observe every day.

Wildlife-friendly Fences

Ranch Fences

Fences are an important part of any yard or landscape. They are necessary for determining property boundaries, controlling trespass, and in the case of farmers and ranchers, enclosing pastures.

Residential Fences

The most important factor to consider when constructing or retrofitting the fence in your yard is ensuring that it is visible to birds and other wildlife. When fences are difficult to see, wildlife can collide or become caught in them. If you have a wire fence in your yard, consider placing a wood rail or PVC pipe on top to increase visibility and safety for jumping deer. Many decorative fence designs can be hazards to deer or other ungulates. Fences with sharp tips should be avoided if possible. Wildlife- and bird-friendly options include chain-link, post and rail, post and pole, or board fences. You can even create a vegetative barrier with shrubs and/or small trees. Good yard barrier shrub species include thimbleberry, raspberry, blackberry, snowberry, wild rose, Oregon-grape, barberry, and firethorn.

Sharp-tipped fence

Wildlife friendly fence

Sharp-tipped fences, like the one pictured at left, can pose danger to jumping deer and other wildlife. A wildlife-friendly fence example is at the right.

Are bats good for your yard? Bats are the only true flying mammal in the world. Eighteen bat species exist in Utah. Of these only three exist in urban landscapes: the little brown bat, the big brown bat, and the Brazilian free-tailed bat. Their diet consists primarily of beetles, mosquitoes, moths, wasps, and midges. A single little brown bat can consume up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in just one hour. Maintaining healthy bat populations benefits ecosystems because bats pollinate flowers and crops, eat some of the most damaging agricultural insects, and disperse a wide variety of seeds. Bat populations are declining almost everywhere due to pesticides, insecticides, habitat degradation, and cave disturbances. You can easily build a bat house (see http://www.batcon.org) and give these important mammals a place to live. Incorporating a bat house into your yard can help reduce pests and ensure that these important mammals have a safe place to rear their young.

Too many deer in your yard already? Every year, especially in the winter, wildlife agencies receive complaints from people that deer are eating the vegetation in their yard. There are many aspects to the complex problem, but one thing that most parties agree on is the need to improve native deer habitat. Focusing on boosting the quality of native deer habitat will likely deter deer from seeking forage in the yards and gardens of urban and suburban residents living along the Wasatch Front and elsewhere. See our factsheet here for more information about deer in landscapes.

Natives are best: Why go native? Native plants are hardy to local growing and soil conditions. Native species are more likely to be healthy and to require fewer chemical treatments and less maintenance and water than non-native species. Choosing native plants will benefit birds, other wildlife and insects, and in the long run will ultimately save time and resources. It’s important to know what is native to your particular site. Quaking aspen, for example, is native to Utah’s mountains, but not to low elevations where most people live. It does not do well in hot, dry, low-elevation sites.

Herbaceous Perennials		Species Benefitted
Common Name	Scientific Name	Hummingbirds	Bees	Butterflies	Birds	Small Mammals
abelia	Abelia spp.			X
ageratum, purple	Ageratum spp.			X
alyssum, sweet	Lobularia maritima	X
aster, Frikart’s	Aster x frikartii			X
bee balm, scarlet	Monarda didyma	X	X	X
beeplant, Rocky Mountain	Cleome serrulata		X
black-eyed Susan	Rudbeckia hirta			X
bluebeard	Caryopteris divaricata			X
buckwheat, sulphurflower	Eriogonum umbellatum		X	X		X
butterfly weed	Asclepias tuberosa			X
cardinal flower	Lobelia cardinalis			X
catnip	Nepeta cataria			X
columbine	Aquilegia spp.	X	X
coneflower, purple	Echinacea purpurea		X	X	X
coralbells	Heuchera sanguinea	X
coreopsis, giant	Coreopsis gigantea	X		X
coreopsis, threadleaf	Coreopsis verticillata			X
daisy, Shasta	Leucanthemum x superbum			X
dandelion	Taraxacum officinale	X		X
desert lavender	Hyptis emoryi	X	X	X
dill	Anethum graveolens			X
evening primrose, white-tufted	Oenothera caespitosa			X
four o’clock	Mirabilis multiflora	X
foxglove	Digitalis spp.	X
gilia, scarlet	Ipomposis aggregata	X
goldenrod	Solidago spp.		X	X		X
hyssop, anise or blue giant	Agastache foeniculum	X	X	X
Indian paintbrush, narrowleaf	Castilleja linariifolia	X
larkspur	Delphinium spp.	X		X
lemon balm	Melissa officinalis			X
lily, tiger	Lilium lancifolium	X
lupine	Lupinus perennis			X
marigold, French	Tagetes patula			X
milkweed	Asclepias spp.			X
mint	Mentha spp.		X	X
parsley	Petroselinum crispum			X
penstemon, firecracker	Penstemon eatonii	X	X	X	X	X
phlox, garden	Phlox paniculata	X		X
prairie clover, western	Dalea ornata		X	X
rosemary	Rosmarinus officinalis			X	X
sage	Salvia officinalis	X		X
speedwell	Veronica spp.	X
sunflower	Helianthus annuus				X
sweet William	Dianthus barbatus	X		X
thistle, New Mexico	Cirsium neomexicanum		X	X
thyme	Thymus praecox			X
trumpet, hummingbird	Epilobium canum	X	X
valerian, red	Centranthus ruber		X	X
yarrow, common	Achillea millefolium		X	X		X
yucca, red	Hesperaloe parviflora	X		X
zinnia, narrowleaf	Zinnia angustifolia			X
Shrubs
acacia, catclaw	Acacia greggii		X	X	X	X
Apache plume	Fallugia paradoxa				X	X
bitterbrush	Purshia tridentata		X		X	X
buffaloberry, roundleaf	Sheperdia rotundifolia				X	X
buffaloberry, silver	Sheperdia argentea		X
butterflybush, woolly	Buddleia marrubiifolia	X	X	X
chokecherry	Prunus virginiana		X	X	X
cinquefoil, shrubby	Potentilla fruticosa		X	X
cliffrose	Purshia mexicana					X
creosotebush	Larrea tridentata		X		X	X
currant, golden	Ribes aureum	X	X	X	X	X
dalea, Gregg	Dalea greggii		X	X
dogwood, redosier	Cornus sericea			X	X
elderberry, blue	Sambucus caerulea		X		X	X
fernbush	Chamaebatiaria millefolium		X	X
greasewood	Sarcobatus vermiculatus					X
honeysuckle, Utah	Lonicera utahensis				X	X
indigo bush	Amorpha fruticosa		X	X
lilac	Syringa vulgaris			X
mesquite, western honey	Prosopis glandulosa		X
mockorange	Philadelphus lewisii	X		X	X
Mormon tea	Ephedra viridis				X	X
mountain-mahogany, alderleaf	Cercocarpus montanus			X	X	X
oak, shrub live	Quercus turbinella				X	X
rabbitbrush, yellow	Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus			X	X	X
rose, Woods’	Rosa woodsii		X		X	X
sage, fringed	Artemisia frigida			X	X	X
sage, purple	Poliomintha incana		X	X
sage, sand	Artemisia filifolia		X		X	X
sagebrush, big	Artemisia tridentata				X	X
sagebrush, silver	Artemisia cana				X	X
saltbush, four-wing	Atriplex canescens				X	X
sand cherry, western	Prunus besseyi		X	X
serviceberry, Utah	Amelanchier utahensis				X	X
skunkbush	Rhus trilobata				X	X
snowberry, common	Symphoricarpos albus				X	X
stretchberry	Forestiera pubescens var. pubescens		X	X	X	X
sumac	Rhus spp.			X	X	X
viburnum	Viburnum spp.			X		X
willow	Salix spp.				X	X
willow, sandbar	Salix interior				X	X
winterfat	Krascheninnikovia lanata				X	X
yucca, soap tree	Yucca elata			X		X
Trees
alder	Alnus spp.	X
alder, gray	Alnus incana				X	X
alder, thinleaf	Alnus tenuifolia	X			X	X
ash, singleleaf	Fraxinus anomala				X	X
birch, water	Betula occidentalis	X			X	X
catalpa, southern	Catalpa bignoniodes	X
cottonwood, Fremont	Populus fremontii				X	X
cottonwood, narrowleaf	Populus angustifolia				X	X
desert-willow	Chilopsis linearis	X	X	X	X
Douglas-fir	Pseudotsuga menziesii				X	X
fir, subalpine	Abies lasiocarpa				X	X
hawthorn, Douglas	Crataegus douglasii		X	X	X
horsechestnut	Aesculus hippocastanum	X				X
juniper, Utah	Juniperus osteosperma				X	X
locust, black	Robinia pseudoacacia	X	X	X
locust, New Mexico	Robinia neomexicana	X	X	X	X	X
maple, bigtooth	Acer grandidentatum				X	X
mountain-mahogany, curlleaf	Cercocarpus ledifolius				X	X
mountainash, Greene	Sorbus scopulina				X
mesquite, velvet	Prosopis velutina		X		X	X
oak, gambel	Quercus gambelii			X	X	X
pine, pinyon	Pinus edulis				X	X
pinyon, singleleaf	Pinus monophylla		X	X	X	X
spruce	Picea spp.				X	X
Vines
grape, Arizona	Vitis arizonica				X	X
honeysuckle, twinberry	Lonicera involucrata	X	X	X	X
trumpet creeper	Campsis radicans	X		X

Resources

Many resources are available for people interested in designing and maintaining landscapes for wildlife. These include:

Landscaping for a variety of species in the Rocky Mountain Region

General info on landscaping for wildlife:

Landscape tips specific for Utah

General info on landscaping for birds and bats:

Photo Credits ordered by appearance

Flickr user “Dendroica cerulea”
Flickr user “Nieve44/Luz"
Flickr user “DieselDemon”
Flickr user “Alexcion”

Photos are licensed under the Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution License

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Published December 2013.