Page 1 A Plant's Home© WindStar Wildlife Institute

For more nature habitat informationVisit these helpful websites:

A Plant's HomeA Bird's HomeA Homesteader's Home

Talk to anyone involved in the improvement ofwildlife habitat and you will hear four words –

food, water, cover, and space.

These are the four essentials for wildlife.Without them you can have the best intentions inthe world, but you won’t attract a wide variety of

species to your property.

Cover & SpaceEssential Elements

of a Wildlife Habitat

When it comes to wildlife, weautomatically think about

food and water, but cover needsare also critical for speciessurvival. Usually our involvementwith cover for wildlife ends withputting up a few bird nestingboxes.

These are fine, and have theadded benefit of beingattractive and easy to place inthe yard, but other kinds ofwildlife require other types ofshelter. Wildlife needsprotection from both predatorsand harsh weather, a place tostay cool or warm in season,and a well-concealed location toraise a family.

Trees are obvious additions tothe landscape, particularlypines which retain theirsheltering qualities throughoutthe winter. Letting the branchesof evergreens – and deciduoustrees during the summer – growunpruned to the ground is aneasy way to increase cover for avariety of small species.

While we tend to be quick toremove dead trees, standing“snags" and fallen logs areinvaluable for wildlife. They offerboth shelter and food to over40 species of birds and morethan 20 kinds of mammals. Inaddition, by attracting insect-eating wildlife, they indirectlyserve to protect the livingplants on your property.

Leave Dead TreesIf they are not threatening

people or structures, or if theycan be reinforced or moved to asafer location, letting deadtrees remain part of yourwildlife habitat will be of greatbenefit.

Page 2 A Plant's Home© WindStar Wildlife Institute

Whenever you can createthis kind of environment, it willsustain the widest variety ofwildlife. The same can be saidof planting in “levels," fromground covers through shrubs,on into small trees and finallytall upper-story trees.

Reduce Open AreasWhile maintaining open areas

for your family, there arecorner-of-the-yard additionsthat provide protectiveshelter, nesting sites, andescape routes for suchcreatures as rabbits, foxes,and woodchucks.

Hedgerows of dogwood,honeysuckle, redbud, or wildcherry offer both shelter andfood, as do thickets of rosesor blackberries. If you have thespace, field crops such ascorn, grain sorghum, orsoybeans are excellent.

Brush piles are anotherpossibility, and should beplaced near the edge of woods,or at the edge of a pond withpart of the brush submerged.They should be about 5 ft. highand at least 12 ft. in diameter.

Discarded Christmas trees areone source of brush pilematerial. The foundation shouldconsist of large rocks or big logswhich won’t decompose tooquickly.

Rock piles or walls can be atthe back of your lot, or in thecenter of a pond. They attractducks and turtles, so avoidplacing them near the edge ofthe water where those specieswould be more vulnerable topredators. Providing food andwater sources close to anyshelter feature will naturallymake it even more attractive towildlife.

Space to Raise a FamilyAs humans, when we think

about desirable space, we tendto picture it wide and open. Forus, it is more of a luxury than anecessity. While we can continueto exist, even if more stressfully,within limited space, this isn’tthe case for wildlife.

Each species has a minimumarea that it requires for food,water, raising a family, and basicsurvival. This varies from verysmall habitats to large tracts ofunbroken forest. While there canbe two to four chipmunks peracre with a range as small ashalf an acre, ideally there will beonly one to four raccoons per 47acres, and their range can bealmost two miles.

Dead trees are only oneexample of “free" shelter thatwe remove when we manicure ouryards. Mowing takes away thetall grasses that protect largenumbers of birds and smallmammals. Allowing a corner ofthe yard, or a strip along oneedge of your property, to growtall will help wildlife, while stillretaining lawn areas for yourfamily.

Adding a fence, paths, or abench can make thisenvironment looked moreplanned and acceptable inneighborhoods with strictzoning regulations, as well asencouraging you to walk insidefor a closer look.

You can let naturally-occurring vegetation grow tallenough to offer shelter, or youmight want to think aboutcreating a wildflower meadowfor additional color and beauty.

One of the best places to finddiversity of wildlife is known as“edge," that area wheredifferent types of plantcommunities come together.This might involve an abruptchange, such as woods to tilledfarmland; or a more gradualtransition from woods to a tallgrass and brush-filled field.

Page 3 A Plant's Home© WindStar Wildlife Institute

The size of the animal isn’talways the determining factor.Woodchucks can be found asdensely populated as ten peracre, with a range of only aquarter of a mile, but opossums,which are similar in size, are onlyfound two per mile, with a rangeof 12 acres.

Needs within one species alsovary. Adult turkeys need maturetrees to roost in and to providefood such as acorns, but theiryoung require clearings withshort grass where they can findinsects to eat. Some species,such as bluebirds, will defend aterritorial area, while others likepurple martins enjoy living inclose communities.

While we can adapt fairly easilyto cramped quarters, the wildlifeneed for space refers to morethan actual distance betweenindividuals. It means the totalenvironment within that area.Squeezing species into ever-shrinking space can mean thedeath of individuals and, in theworst case, extinction.

Variety Attracts VarietyBy increasing the variety of

foods, types of vegetation, andheights of habitat, as well asoffering plentiful nourishmentand water, you will be able toattract the widest variety ofwildlife to your property.

When designing your landscapeto increase available space fordifferent species, also thinkabout your own plans forinteracting with wildlife.

If you are trying to attract alot of birds, place feeders andnatural food sources in clearview from your window.

If photography is your aim, besure that there is some shelterto hide behind while watchinganimals drink and bathe. Whileimproving habitat certainlybenefits wildlife, it should alsobring you pleasure and, if well-designed and built aroundnative plants, be relatively self-sustaining.

It is very important tolandscape our own propertiesto be more supportive of wildlife,but it is equally important toencourage others to do thesame. By linking a number ofyards, farms, and small tractsof trees through the efforts ofindividual owners, we are givingcreatures a much greaterchance to thrive by creating“wildlife corridors."

Neighbors as a TeamIn some parts of the country,

whole neighborhoods arestarting to work together, each

family contributing something –water, feeders, shrubs withwinter berries – to thecombined landscape.

In other situations,communities are working toenhance common areas, suchas public parks or retirementhome properties.

By improving one’s ownproperty, others notice theincreased beauty and pleasure,and they are inspired to followthat example. In this way, smallchanges can add up to majorbenefits to wildlife and theoverall environment.

Start today to think aboutways to provide the fouressentials for wildlife, and soonyou will be an integral part ofthe growing movement torestore habitat and increasethe survival of our country’swildlife species.

Sixteen Components of Wildlife Habitat– Landscaping for Wildlife

Structural

Components

Plant

Components

Feeders

Page 4 A Plant's Home© WindStar Wildlife Institute

This article was written byMaryland Master Wildlife HabitatNaturalist Cathy Gilleland.

For more information or for thename of a Master Wildlife HabitatNaturalist in your area, pleasecontact:

WindStar Wildlife Institute

E-mail: wildlife@windstar.org

http://www.windstar.org

WindStar Wildlife Institute is anational, non-profit, conservationorganization whose mission is tohelp individuals and familiesestablish or improve the wildlifehabitat on their properties.

Abundance & Home Range Requirements*

Species Abundance Range

Beaver .5/acre, 5-8 per colony 450 ft. from water

Big Brown Bat 12 to 200 per colony 30 mi. from birthplace

Black Bear 1 to 1.3 per mile Females 1 to 10 milesMales 30 to 40 miles

Bobcat 1 per 2 to 4 miles .4 to 16 miles

Coyote 1 per 2 miles Females 10 to 30 milesMales 40 miles

Eastern Chipmunk 2 to 4 per acre .5 to 1 acre

Eastern Mole 1 per 3 to 5 acres .3 acre

Gray Fox .01 per acre 1 to 5 miles

Gray Squirrel N/A 2 to 7 acres

Long-tailedWeasel 1 per 16 to 18 miles 30 to 40 acres

Mink N/A 2 to 3 miles

Meadow Vole 35 per acre .1 to .23 acres

Muskrat 10 per acre (fall) 200 yards from den

Opossum 2 per mile 12 acres

Raccoon 1 per 4 to 47 acres .6 to 1.8 miles

Red Squirrel .8 to 3.8 per acre 3 to 6 acres

Red Fox .01 acres 1 to 2 miles

Short-tailedShrew Max: 48 per acre .5 to 1.25 acres

Striped Skunk 31 per mile .25 to .5 miles

Southern FlyingSquirrel Max: 5 per acre .5 acre

White-footedMouse Max: 15 per acre .1 to .5 acre

White-tailed Deer Max: 100 per mile 150 to 500 acres

Woodchuck 1.3 to 10 per acre .25 to .5 mile

* Compiled by J.S. Barclay and C. Grambartolomer Green