Interesting Articles
Back to articles

Creating Backyard Native Habitats
For those of us who don’t have the energy and resources to cultivate a full-scale farm such as those on the Rappahannock Farm Tour, experiencing nature’s bounty of plants and animals can seem like a rare treat! Honestly, anyone can help steward plants and animals right at home, regardless of property size. Creating habitat is a matter of striking a delicate balance between your objectives and the needs of the animals that might reside in that habitat during one or more important life stages, including migration.

First, decide what you most desire from your habitat. Do you want to see beautiful butterflies and birds? Increase your garden production by attracting pollinators such as bees, syrphid flies, moths and/or hummingbirds? Restore your property or water sources to their previous natural state? Mind having larger mammals such as deer, bear or fox nearby? Plan the habitat accordingly and with resources available locally.

Any effort on your part to contribute positively to the natural landscape is a step in the right direction!
For smaller habitats, focus on native flowering plants for pollen and nectar (protein and sugars for pollinators), especially those that produce seeds and berries to help birds and mammals make it through the winter. It’s best to plant fruit and seed-bearing grasses and forbs — instead of simply filling the bird feeder — because natural sources of food keep birds foraging naturally in a dispersed way, which protects them from predators.

In rural landscapes, be aware that bears like birdseed, too! Mammals such as bears, squirrels and raccoons can become habituated easily to feeders. While they are “cute” and fun to watch, it is very dangerous for them to lose their fear of humans (and vice versa)!

Creating habitats at home provides many opportunities to observe wildlife in their natural environment, but more important, you are becoming part of the solution to habitat loss, rather than contributing to the problem. For more information or to request advice, visit www.pecva.org or contact me directly at kwinter@pecva.org.

Some Virginia Piedmont Native Plants to Get Your Habitat Started

Scientific Name Common Name Wildlife Use
Solidago species (spp.) goldenrod pollen; seeds for songbirds
Asclepius spp. milkweed pollen; leaves are food for monarch larvae only
Helianthus spp. sunflower pollen; seeds for birds & mammals
Lonicera sempervirens trumpet honeysuckle nectar used by hummingbirds
Andropogon spp. bluestems/broomsedge seeds for songbirds & game birds; forage for large mammals
Quercus spp. oak nuts are major part of diet for many birds & mammals
Cornus spp. dogwood seeds & fruits used by birds & mammals
Lendera benzoin spicebush pollen; leaves are food for butterfly larvae, berries for birds

Kim Winter, Ph.D., Manager of the Sustainable Habitat Program, Piedmont Environmental Council

Back to articles