Habitats
A Fact Sheet Series on Managing Lands for Wildlife

University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Bulletin #7133

Planning a Backyard Wildlife Habitat

What do you want? It is very important to think about what you want in your yard, in terms of wildlife and other uses or values. What are your backyard habitat goals? Do you want to focus on a few species, or attract as many species as possible? What species have you already seen in your yard? What species are present in your community? Keep in mind that you will be managing the habitat, not the wildlife species themselves.

What else is important about your yard? Do you want privacy, views from your windows of gardens, flowering trees and shrubs, a windbreak for north winds, or summer shade for south-facing windows? Make a list of goals for your habitat, and put them in priority order. You will provide suitable habitat for wildlife while you create a landscape to meet your needs.

Inventory. Sketch a map of your yard, and draw in the buildings, septic tanks and fields, power lines, driveways and so on. Draw in the existing plants, trees, hedges and other plants you wish to keep. It is not necessary to remove existing plantings. You might start with what you have and add others. Include on your map features on neighboring lands, such as a pond, big white pine trees or a rock wall. Habitats do not conform to our property lines, so think like wildlife, and see the greater possibilities offered in your environs. To your map, add information on soil and light conditions, such as wet areas, dry areas, shady and sunny areas. Identify soil types, and, to find out if there are nutrient deficiencies, consider having certain areas tested through your county Extension office. Use the grid provided to help you sketch your map.

 

Sketch a map like this one of your yard. Draw in buildings, septic tanks and fields, and power lines, as well as existing plants, trees and hedges you wish to keep. Each season, add new plantings to your map. Draw in non-living components, too, such as feeders and birdbaths.

Learn about the principles and components of a backyard habitat. Information on habitats is available at your local library or your county Extension office. Ask for copies of bulletins "Principles for Creating a Backyard Wildlife Habitat," # 7132, and "Components of a Backyard Wildlife Habitat," # 7137. Review your map to see which components of backyard habitat are present in your yard and neighborhood.

Consider how much you can take on each season, and how much you can manage over time. Your choices in plant materials may need more or less maintenance. Feeders, birdbaths and nest boxes also require upkeep.

Do it. Identify which area or areas of your yard you want to do first, and get specific about your choices of plants, shrubs and trees. In choosing and placing them, follow the principles of backyard habitat, including function, diversity, arrangement and seasonality. Each season, as you plant, add the new plantings to your map. Draw in non-living components, too, such as feeders and birdbaths. The size and situation of our yards make it unlikely that all 16 habitat components will be possible. (See University of Maine Cooperative Extension bulletin #7137, Components of a Backyard Habitat for a list of the 16 components.) Some may be available elsewhere in your neighborhood. Make an effort to include as many as you can. If you have a small yard, it may be most beneficial for wildlife to provide plants that offer winter foods and cover. Many plants serve several functions. For example, some perennial flowers are attractive to nectar-feeders such as butterflies, moths, bees or hummingbirds and may also have seeds for the birds in fall and winter if you leave them standing at the end of the summer.

Change plans as needed. Habitat management is part science and part art. Reflect on what you do each year, what you observe about how different wildlife species use your yard, how the plantings are doing, what you like or don’t like about them. Consider what you will do next year, thinking again about the principles and components of a backyard habitat. Learning about wildlife and the plant materials will help you to make good choices. When a choice turns out to be not what you had in mind, learn from it and make better future choices. You might take photographs, keep a record book of the common and botanical names of what you have planted, and of wildlife you observe. Share your enthusiasm, experiences and learnings with others. Several neighbors together can create an even more attractive habitat and draw an even greater diversity of wildlife.

Developed by Nancy Coverstone, Extension educator, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

For more information, contact your University of Maine Cooperative Extension county office.

Sources:
    "Landscaping for Wildlife," by Carrol L. Henderson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1987.
    "Enhancing Your Backyard Habitat for Wildlife," by Peter M. Picone, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 1995.

See the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Online Publications Catalog for the complete Habitats fact sheet series.

Published and distributed in furtherance of Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Land Grant University of the state of Maine and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Cooperative Extension and other agencies of the U.S.D.A. provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.

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