Inviting Wildlife To The Backyard Banquet

By Jan Howard

Two Newtown properties have joined the growing number of residential properties certified by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) as Backyard Wildlife Habitat sites.

The properties of Dave and Pam Wang of Newtown and Tracy Millander and John Benson of Sandy Hook recently received certification for putting out the welcome mat for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife and helping to protect the local environment.

The two couples’ love for nature is reflected in the beauty of their properties that, while aesthetically pleasing to human visitors, are a home for various forms of wildlife.

Mr and Mrs Wang and Ms Millander and Mr Benson provide habitat by cultivating trees, shrubs, and flowers that offer food and cover for wildlife, thus attracting butterflies of various kinds and colors, birds, frogs, and small mammals, such as squirrels, possum, and chipmunks.

They join more than 28,000 owners of property in the United States and Canada, in urban, suburban, and rural areas, who provide backyard habitats. While most backyard habitat sites can be found on residential properties, they also can be found at post offices, schools, and places of worship, as well as hospitals, community parks, and municipal facilities.

Mr and Mrs Wang have been residents of Newtown for 22 years, and every year they have added plantings or made changes to their four-acre property that encourage wildlife habitats. About three-quarters of the property is habitat oriented.

A pond abutting the Wang property is home to wood ducks, mallards, and a pair of swans and their cygnets. A gazebo strategically placed offers a view of the pond for duck and swan watching and various benches offer a place to watch butterflies, birds, small mammals, and deer that visit the property. A gentle waterfall drops down to a fishpond near their house.

“I love the yard and being out here to listen to the birds,” Mrs Wang said.

Ms Millander and Mr Benson have lived in their current home for about six years and have made extensive changes to the two and one-third acre property to encourage wildlife. Existing flowers, such as peonies and daylilies, were moved into new perennial gardens. Old, rotting trees were taken down to make way for more gardens.

“Foxglove is everywhere,” Ms Millander said. “They were indigenous to the property when we moved in. Every summer we keep expanding the gardens,” she said, noting that almost all the property is habitat. “We decrease the lawn every year. My husband does the digging and the hauling. He roto-tilled an area for more gardens.”

During the spring a small pond, which is home to tadpoles and frogs, attracted several mallards, she said. “I keep hoping they’ll nest in the yard.”

They put salt licks out for the deer in the winter and hay at the edge of the property to keep them from eating the plants.

The Wangs became interested in having their property certified as an official Backyard Wildlife Habitat after seeing a newspaper article. After downloading the application form from the NWF Web site, they sent it in, along with photographs of the property and a map as documentation, showing wood and brush piles that are habitats and trees and other plantings.

Ms Millander said she and her husband hadn’t been aware of the NWF program, but had books on what to plant to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. A friend who had registered her property as a wildlife habitat suggested they apply. “She recruited us,” she said.

Once certified, each couple received a letter from the NWF director, a numbered certificate, and a list of plantings that attract wildlife. They have also purchased signs that identify their properties as habitats.

“It’s kind of fun,” Ms Millander said. “The more people who do it, the more bird friendly the neighborhood will be.”

She has purchased tags to name and mark the plants. The habitat application was made during the winter, she noted, and she had to do the plants by memory. “I think I remembered 70 percent of them.”

Both couples have about a dozen bird feeders to invite different varieties of birds, including syrup for hummingbirds and thistle seed for goldfinch. There are also up to 12 birdhouses on each of the properties, and birdbaths. Suet feeders attract woodpeckers.

A wren which obviously prefers upscale lodgings has taken up residence in one of two ornamental birdhouses Mrs Wang placed above an arbor.

Ground feeders are provided for squirrels. Mrs Wang said unshelled peanuts and corn are squirrel pleasers. Both couples put out stale bread for the squirrels.

“The first time I put up bird feeders, we were getting some birds,” Ms Millander said. “After I put up a thistle feeder, I had a yard full of goldfinch.” She also has a birdfeeder without perches that attracts woodpeckers and nuthatches.

“My husband will sit by a hummingbird feeder with a camera and has gotten some good pictures,” Ms Millander said. “They’re not shy. I took a hummingbird feeder inside to clean it, and a hummingbird came up to the window. They will buzz me when I’m weeding. When I’m watering, they come and play.”

“We get different birds in different parts of the property,” Mrs Wang said, depending on what is growing there. They have planted blackberry and raspberry bushes and grapes for their own consumption as well as for the birds and animals.

Mr and Mrs Wang have had some unusual houseguests. A turkey came to visit and stayed the winter in their greenhouse even though offered the chance to leave. Much like a pet, the turkey would follow them around the property. “If I was working in the yard, he would come over to see what I was doing.”  Then he would proceed to pull out what she had planted, she added.

A young female robin, rescued from a feral cat teaching her kittens to hunt, resides in a cage outside during the day but is taken indoors at night. Mr and Mrs Wang are teaching her to catch worms by dropping them in clumps of soil into the cage to ready her for a return to the wild.

The wood ducks, swans, and mallards that inhabit the pond respond to whistles when Mr and Mrs Wang bring bread and corn. “The wood ducks and swans will come up to the house for food if we’re not down there,” Mrs Wang said.

Even the smallest backyard can become a habitat for wildlife, Mr Wang said. “It’s very minimal,” he said.

“They’re trying to get people to preserve what is left,” Mrs Wang said.

Easy step-by-step instructions on how to create a Backyard Wildlife Habitat site may be ordered with Visa or MasterCard by calling 716-461-3092 or by sending a check (payable to the National Wildlife Federation) to NWF – Backyard Wildlife Habitat program, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190. The cost of the packet is $12.95, including shipping and handling, plus any applicable state and local taxes. For information on the program, the NWF Web site is www.nwf.org/habitats/, or call 438-6100.