Please send your
question regarding habitat development and
gardening for birds to gardening@birdzilla.com.
We'll answer as many as we can and post selected
answers here.
Q.
Wildlife doesn't just randomly occur in a given
area; it is there in response to habitat which
meets its needs. What are the four essential
elements of a wildlife habitat, including for
birds? DF -
Atlanta, GA
A. Food,
water, cover (protection from weather and
predators) and space to raise a family.
Tom
Patrick is president of the
Windstar
Wildlife
Institute.
Tom's company provides training and
certification in wildlife habitat
development programs. Thanks to Tom and
some of his Certified Wildlife Habitat
Naturalists for answering the
questions.
Q.
Feeders are used to supplement the foods provided
by trees, shrubs, flowers, crops in food plots,
vines and ground covers. What are the different
types of feeders? TR - LA,
CA.
A. Cylindrical,
hopper, suet, hummingbird, squirrel and
fruit.
Kansas
Plants for Wildlife Habitat & Conservation Landscaping
Do you enjoy
observing nature...hearing the song of the
chickadee...watching hummingbirds fill up on nectar
from trumpet vines...listening to the chattering of
squirrels...seeing the beauty and grace of a
monarch butterfly perched on a milkweed...
experiencing the antics of a Mockingbird...the
cooing of the Mourning Doves...the swiftness of the
Cottontail...and the brilliance of a Cardinal or
Baltimore Oriole?
If the answer is
"yes", you'll probably want to landscape your
property for wildlife so you can experience even
more from Mother Nature by attracting more wildlife
to your property.
Wildlife doesn't
just randomly appear in a given area. It is there
because of favorable habitat. The essential
elements that you must provide in your habitat are
food, water, cover and a place to raise a family.
To attract the most wildlife, you need native
trees, shrubs, groundcover, vines and wildflowers,
many of which will provide food and
shelter.
Native or
indigenous plants naturally occur in the region in
which they evolved. They are adapted to local soil,
rainfall and temperature conditions, and have
developed natural defenses to many insects and
diseases. Because of these traits, native plants
will grow with minimal use of water, fertilizers
and pesticides. Wildlife species evolve with
plants; therefore, they use native plant
communities as their habitat. Using native plants
helps preserve the balance and beauty of natural
ecosystems.
Remember the
function served by plants and structures is more
important than their appearance. In other words,
don't base your planting decisions solely on what a
plant looks like. Following are WindStar Wildlife
Institute's plant recommendations for wildlife
habitats in Kansas:
Trees
Eastern Red
Cedar; Eastern White Pine; Silver and Sugar Maple;
White, Shingle, Chinkapin, Pin, Red, Post and Black
and Bur Oak; Shagbark, Shellbark, Bitternut, and
Swamp Hickory; Hackberry; Redbud; Black Walnut,
Eastern Cottonwood; Ironwood; Sycamore; Red
Mulberry; Basswood; Red and American Elm; Catalpa;
White Ash; Kentucky Coffee Tree; Paw Paw; Western
Buckeye; Cockspur and Downy Hawthorn; Persimmon;
Green Ash; Honey Locust; Osage Orange; Black
Cherry; Prairie Crabapple; Black Locust;
Peach-leaved, Sandbar and Black Willow
Prairie
Shrubs
Lead Plant; False Indigo; New Jersey Tea;
Buttonbush; Swamp and Rough-leaved Dogwood; Wild
Plum, Chokecherry; Aromatic, Winged and Smooth
Sumac; Golden Currant
Prairie
Wildflowers
- New
England, Heath, Smooth, Aromatic, Sky Blue,
Willowleaf, and Silky Aster: Buttonbush, Sweet
Pepperbush, Spicebush, Swamp, Bluntleaf, Mead's,
Narrowleaf, Smooth, Common, Butterfly, Whorled, and
Green Milkweed; Prairie, Blacksamson, Topeka, and
Pale Coneflower; Grass Leaved, Stiff and Showywand
Goldenrod; Wild Strawberry; Longflower and
Smallflower Beeblossom; Prairie Fringed Orchid;
Sawtooth, Maximilian, Ashy, Stiff, Willow Leaf, and
False Sunflower; Spotted and Roundfruit St.
John's-wort; Dotted, Thickspike and Scaly
Gayfeather; Cardinal Flower; Great Blue, Pale and
Spike Lobelia; Lemon and Mintleaf Beebalm; Common,
Missouri and Showy Evening Primrose; Prairie Phlox;
Compass Plant;
Grasses Indiangrass;
Big and Little Bluestem; Sideouts Grama;
Switchgrass; Prairie Cordgrass, Prairie and Rough
Dropseed; Western Wheatgrass; Buffalo Grass;
Yellowfruit, Bicknells, Straw, Bushes, Franks,
Midland and Fox Sedge; Panicgrass; Spikerush;
Canada Wild Rye; Purple Lovegrass; Junegrass,
Witchgrass; Green, Rusty and Softstem Bulrush;
Virginia and Hairy Wild Rye; Indian
Woodoats
Gazing upon Kansas,
you'll see rolling plains rising in elevation from
east to west. Mile after mile of golden waves
highlight Kansas in the early summer as a reminder
that this state is the leading producer of wheat in
the United States. The Wheat State can be divided
into three geographic regions; the Dissected Till
Plains in the northeast, the Southeastern Plains
consisting of the Osage Plains and the Flint Hills
to the west, and the Great Plains covering the
western half of the state. The Kansas
Wildflower Society
can provide lists of plants for a specific
region.
