Wildlife Habitat Boost

Backyard birds at the feeder, a graceful doe on a misty morning, the call of the loon, a fleeting glimpse of a cheeky fox...  

In Wisconsin we are lucky to have a wide variety of wildlife species living among us.  For many rural landowners this is the reason they live where they do.  

As landowners, we're not professional wildlife managers, but we can manage our forests, fields, and other vegetated areas, to make them more appealing to wildlife. 

By taking a few simple steps, we can change how wildlife might perceive our land. 

To encourage critters to visit our properties, we can consider how to improve access to one of the four key resources that wildlife need in order to survive:

• food
• water
• shelter
• space

Natural sources of food can drive movement in deer herds and flocks of birds like nothing else.  Seasonal changes mean there is a natural flux of food availability.  

Consider the following action steps to improve food sources on your land:

• Allow acorns and other tree nuts and berries to stay on the trees or stay where they fall, instead of being quick to "tidy up"
• Avoid using strong pesticides that can harm insect populations such as caterpillars which are important foods rich in protein for birds and small mammals
• Install native shrub species that bear fruit or berries, such as Serviceberry, Highbush Cranberry, Red Cedar, and other fruit trees
• Remember when small mammals are abundant, this helps support larger animal populations as well

Even if your land doesn't include a lake or waterway, access to water is still an important consideration for attracting and supporting wildlife.  

• Watch for ephemeral (temporary) spring ponds that may form, and avoid driving or dragging trailers through them.  These are extremely important breeding habitat areas for amphibians such as frogs and toads, which are very susceptible to pollutants 
• If you do have a pond, consider leaving part of the shoreline natural, instead of mowed, to preserve wild access to water and encourage small critters to use it while staying hidden
• Even within a manicured garden, certain plants can still be extremely beneficial to birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies.  The cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) and its relatives hold water like a tiny cup between the leaf and stem, for wildlife to use! 

Homes for wildlife are one of the most important factors for keeping wildlife safe on our land.  Shelter provides protection from Wisconsin's harsh weather, places to den and give birth, and a chance to escape and hide from predators.  Shelter can include brush piles, holes, mounds, shrub cover, and standing dead trees called snags.  There are multiple ways we can increase potential shelter for wildlife:

• Leave fallen leaves on the ground as much as possible, for hibernating insects and small mammals
• Allow at least some fallen logs to remain as shelter for sensitive species like salamanders
• Snags can support significant numbers of birds like woodpeckers
• Remove invasive species that form dense thickets like buckthorn and non-native honeysuckle, which can hide predators like foxes who prey on song bird nests

Many animals need wider ranges than we might think, even deer (especially bucks) are known to roam far throughout their lifespans.  Designating part of your land as a wild space will go a long way towards protecting wildlife throughout their various stages of life.  Here are a few ideas to maximize and protect space on your land:

• Check out your property on Google Earth to view satellite images showing how your forest is connected to other parcels.  This can reveal important travel routes and migration corridors for animals, or it could also reveal how fragile certain forest parcels might be in the region.
• Wildlife don't respect property borders, so be sure to keep up communication with your neighbors. Exchange wildlife sighting reports to stay in the loop on who or what is passing through!
• It's extremely valuable for some interior forest wildlife if you can set aside parts of your land as protected from human activity or traffic.  Certain birds and bats require undisturbed surroundings to flourish.
• Space for wildlife can span an entire landscape, so working together with your neighboring landowners is an important step to maximizing your efforts.

Below are examples of land improvements that will benefit particular wildlife in our area of Wisconsin:

• Remove invasive phragmites so amphibians can continue to access wetlands.
• Replace invasive buckthorn with native shrubs like serviceberry to provide better nutrition for songbirds.
• Where safe, leave standing dead trees as shelter for birds like red-headed woodpeckers and bluebirds.
• Avoid intensive management activities—such as timber harvest or brush clearing—during times when wildlife are breeding. The nesting period for conservation priority species can range mid-May to early August. Woodcock begin nesting as early as April in northern areas.
• When conducting a timber harvest, leave a few individual deciduous trees or clumps of trees to provide singing perches for songbirds like the golden-winged warbler.
• Providing dense clumps of conifers like balsam fir and spruce can provide species, like the ruffed grouse, some cover during the winter.