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Cornell University : Cornell Cooperative Extension
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Make Your Garden a Welcoming
Winter Home for Wildlife |
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December 5, 2001 Winter is a good time to assess our backyard and gardens to see how wildlife-friendly they are-or could be- with a little human help. During the colder months, most critters are gearing up for spring by searching for high-energy food. The best and easiest way to offer winter food for wildlife is by planting vegetation that produces berries, nuts or seeds. Leave seed heads on flowers rather than deheading them-this will provide visual interest in the winter garden and feed wildlife at the same time. Many mammals and bird species depend on these plant foods for sustenance. Remember to use plants that are native to your area-they are adapted to your soil and climate conditions-and are the best way to provide habitat for wildlife. An outdoor holiday tree decorated especially for our furry and feathered friends will make your yard a popular stopping place for wildlife. By creating "decorations" made out of natural food items, you can provide added nourishment to supplement the winter diet of creatures overwintering in your neighborhood. The National Wildlife Federation recommends these tasty treats for wildlife noshing. Garlands Create a garland made out of food items. Take a length of twine or string and tie a sewing needle to the end. Using the needle, thread a variety of natural food items like unsalted popcorn or dried fruit like apples, raisins, cranberries and nuts. Wildlife Energy Bars Suet, or rendered fat, is a great high-energy food source that can provide a lot of energy for backyard creatures during winter. You can even make your own special blend. Use 1 cup chunky peanut butter, 1 cup pure rendered suet or vegetable shortening, 2 ½ cups coarse yellow corn meal, seeds, raisins or other dried fruit, and roasted peanuts. Mix peanut butter and suet, then add cornmeal to thicken the mixture. Stir in seeds, raisins or roasted peanuts if desired. Make suet "muffins" by placing suet stuffing into a muffin tin. Sprinkle seeds on top. Place a pipe cleaner in each suet "muffin" to act as a hanger and place the tin in the freezer to harden. Once hardened, hang the suet "muffins" or place in feeding stations. Hang the cakes from the tree with string, in a suet cage, or in mesh bags like those in which oranges and grapefruit are sold. You can use orange grapefruit or even coconut halves to create a feeder by putting suet stuffing into half of a hollowed-out rind. Poke three holes in the edge of the rind and run string through the holes. Sprinkle seeds on top. Place in the freezer to harden. Once hardened, knot the strings at the top and the bottom to secure and hang outside near a window. You can also gather cones from evergreen trees like pines and spruce, stuff suet and peanut butter into the crevices, and then roll the whole thing in seed. Critter Cookies Another great idea is to use cookie cutters to punch out holiday-shaped slices of bread. You can punch holes in the top to hang with string outside for birds. When it hardens up, it is a perfect treat for your nibblers. Bagels make great feeders as well. First, split bagels in half and harden overnight. Spread peanut butter on each side and then sprinkle with seeds. Tie a string through the hole and hang. Wildlife Wreaths Use wire to string 10 to 12 inch sections of popcorn and fruit like you would for a garland. Fold the ends of the wire up and twist together to form small wreath. Tie a bow on the top with ribbon or raffia and hang on the tree. Another way to make a wreath is to buy millet seeds still on the stalk from the bird food section of pet stores. Millet is the smallest seed in most bird seed mixes. The stalks can be bent around to form a circle and secured to form a wreath. Santa's Seed Cakes Combine one ounce of unflavored gelatin and ¼ cup of water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Then add 1 ¼ cups of any combination of seeds that the birds in your yard enjoy. If you are unfamiliar with what they like, try 50 percent each of black oil sunflower and safflower seeds. Mix well. Until all seeds are coated with gelatin. Pack the mixture firmly into a plastic container and chill until solid. Use molds in the shapes of stars, wreaths, trees or other holiday shapes to make festive ornaments or tree toppers. Once the cake is removed from the mold, it's ready for the birds to eat. Since 1973, the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat program has been helping people across America to save a place for wildlife right in their own backyards. By providing food, water, cove, and places for wildlife to raise their young, backyard gardeners can make a difference. For more information on how you can provide winter food for wildlife, or how you can get your yard certified as an official Backyard Wildlife habitat site, visit the Federation's web site at www.nwf.org. The nation's largest member-supported conservation education and advocacy group, the National Wildlife Federation unites people from all walks of life to protect nature, wildlife and the world we all share. The Federation has educated and inspired families to uphold America's conservation tradition since 1936. Yates
County Master Gardeners welcome your calls for assistance and questions
and may be reached at 315.536.5123. This article and previous articles
published in the Chronicle Express are available at www.cce.cornell.edu/yates/mgindex.htm Source:
National Wildlife Federation, Reston, VA, June 2001 Cornell
Cooperative Extension Yates Association |
