National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat
Backyard habitats are places where wildlife can exist in conditions which are favorable to them. Our wildlife consists mainly of birds, butterflies, various bees and wasps, the occasional toad, lots of small lizards (green anoles and blue-tailed skinks), squirrels and other little creatures. Some years we enjoy the company of a brown rabbit or two and some years the owls are particularly noisy in the big trees in the neighborhood.
The National Wildlife Federation encourages homeowners to consider wildlife needs when planning home landscapes and offers lots of suggestions on ways to accommodate wildlife in normal yards.
The main requirements of a backyard habitat are provisions for
food, water, shelter from predators and places to dwell and nest. We have bird
feeders with seeds, suet, fruit and nectar. 
We have bird baths and small puddles for
crawly things. We plant flowers which have nectar and edible seeds. We grow
shrubs and trees which provide blossoms, seeds, nuts and nesting places. When a limb
fell from the pecan tree, we cut it up and left the small pile of logs for critters to
hide in. We try to harvest our bronze fennel before the butterflies find it; because
once they do, they will lay their eggs and the new caterpillars will munch the plant down
to the roots in no time. Each year we have a contest to see if we can beat the birds
to the figs and blueberries. Fortunately our old grapevine produces fruit we do not
enjoy, so the birds are welcome to it all. It is really not hard to have a backyard
habitat, and the creatures provide us with hours of entertainment, as well as educating
us. We keep a list of our backyard birds in our reference
book which we keep handy to identify new arrivals.
If you would like to know more about the program, the National Wildlife Federation has its Backyard Habitat website at:
www.nwf.org/habitats/index.html
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