A Backyard Habitat is a Convenient Place to Nature Journal
My backyard habitat makes nature journaling in my own garden convenient and fascinating. By learning to what it takes to attract bird, hummingbirds and butterflies, I have learned about the life cycles and natural history of many animals and plants. Sitting camouflaged in my garage, I watch the activity down at the feeders. Right now, over twenty House Sparrows, mostly females, perch on the stems and branches of the thicket at the end of the garden. After eating expensive hulled sunflower seeds, a bird will fly down to the water dish for a sip or two. My feeders have attracted birds to the garden that I didn't even know were in the neighborhood. Squirrels, Cabbage White butterflies, Monarchs, Eastern Garter Snakes, beetles, bees, etc. are all living and breeding in my little Philadelphia garden. I love going in my garden at midday and watching a giant Monarch butterfly drinking nectar from the Butterfly Weed. I attract butterflies by planting both nectar and host plants.And after many years I have finally been able to attract hummingbirds to my garden. Planting Coral Honeysuckle Vine did the trick. My garden is only about 15 feet wide by 48 feet long, so don't let size stop you. You can also create a mini-nature preserve where you live. Imagine simply walking outside to sit and observe, butterflies laying eggs, a male House Sparrow feeding a chick or a small snake slithering through the grass. Then writing or drawing about it in your nature journal. If you already feed the birds (and squirrels), adding a few choice plants and features can turn your garden into a wonderful place for animals to live and grow. The following pages will help you along the way. To create a mini-nature preserve in your own garden all you need is: foodwater cover and a place for animals to raise young. Each page will give guidance and examples on planning and managing a mini-nature preserve. As time goes by you can develop your garden into a very well-planned, extensive and beautiful place to study and connect with nature. The National Wildlife Federation also has a Certification Program. This program aims to establish wildlife and native plant friendly places across North America. The National Wildlife Federation's book Attracting Birds, Butterflies and other Backyard Wildlife by David Mizejewski, explains and gives many examples of how to begin to turn your garden into a mini-nature preserve. It is not in-depth but gives an overview. Buy the dvd and watch the Animal Planet series, "Best of Backyard Habitat". My current favorite book is this one, The Wildlife Gardener's Guide. It gives more information on why certain plants attract moths, or bees, etc. And it has great regional plant lists. More Pages on Creating Your Own Mini-Nature Preserve:foodwater cover places to raise young attracting butterflies attracting birds free bird house plans plants for birds From Backyard Habitat return to Connecting with Nature homepage
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