Planting for Backyard Wildlife -- Part 4 of 4

Root-Arounds Wildlife likes places to root around in leaf, mulch, weed and wood-chip piles. A pile doesn't have to be any more than, say, 2 feet in diameter by whatever will stay on top without rolling down the sides much. By the time winter is over my 2-foot high wood chip piles have all kinds of little mouse and vole tunnels in them. Larger piles are fine too.

Charcoal logs Some birds enjoy pecking at charcoal from a charred log. Partially burn a log in your fireplace but be sure not to use any chemicals to start the fire. Experienced bird feeders also use an unburned log by pouring cooked suet grease on it so that it soaks into the bark. Birds particularly like to peck at this during the winter. Unfortunately, skunks and raccoons like licking it also and you may not welcome these pests.

Peat bale Take a solid bale of peat moss, cover it on four sides with 4-mil plastic tied on with plastic cord. The plastic will keep the peat from getting wet. The cord will keep it form falling apart. Channel out a 4-inch diameter starter hole about 6- to 8-inches deep just above ground level. You can put in more than one hole since a bale is large enough to have two or three holes in it. Hide the peat bale in an out-of-the-way place in your yard so small critters can find it and burrow in.

Hay bale I don't know what good a hay bale does, but toss one of these somewhere out of the way for critters to use. If you want to keep it from deteriorating from the top down, drape some plastic sheet over it so it protects the top and two sides. Anchor it with a few bricks. Eventually it will rot from the bottom up.

Robin Stumps and Perch Posts Robins love to perch in the open. You can make a landing perch for them by placing a wide-diameter stump in your backyard. It doesn't have to be high - even a foot will do. An alternative is to hammer a dowel or firring strip tee into the ground.

More information

The Backyard Wildlife Habitat™ Program of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Probably the grandaddy of wildlife habitat programs. Lots of information. See NWF's Habitats Newsletter Online.

Creating Backyard Wildlife Habitats and Landscaping for Wildlife Guide. An exceptionally long list of links on backyard wildlife, attracting birds and related subjects. Knock yourself out!