SCVAS publishes articles about birding and conservation in its newsletter, The Avocet. See a complete list of online articles here.

Your yard is an important bird habitat — landscape and maintain it accordingly

Many yards in the Bay Area are landscaped using the “one of these and one of those” plan. Since most things grow well here, those cute little bushes and trees that were planted a few years ago may now be a hodgepodge that is difficult to maintain and not particularly attractive. If this describes your yard and you're thinking of making some changes, you can find many resources to help you create a healthy yard that is safe for people and pets and attractive to birds and other wildlife.

One such resource is a new section of National Audubon Society's website called Audubon At Home. Audubon suggests what I'll call the “more and less” approach: more bird feeding, native plants, water features, and nest sites; less invasive plants, turf lawn, free-roaming cats and impervious hardscape such as concrete.

If you're like me, you hate those how-to articles that make you feel guilty because you're not doing what you're “supposed&#!48; to do. So I have a confession: I have very few native plants.

When I re-landscaped my yard seventeen years ago, we were experiencing the second year of a seven-year drought, so I wanted to plant native and Mediterranean plants to minimize water use. They did great for the first few years, but were soon shaded out by my large California Live Oak, redwood tree, and my neighbor's Deodora and Incense Cedars. The natives are now on their last gasp because they don't get enough sun. Only the Western Sword Fern flourishes; I have replaced the others with plants more suitable for shade. However, with the oak and redwood, I do have some nice habitat. My birding yard list includes resident Bewick's Wren, Oak Titmouse, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, House Finch, California Towhee, Anna's Hummingbird, and Western Scrub-Jay as well as visiting Nuttall's Woodpecker, Cedar Waxwing, Black Phoebe, Lesser and American Goldfinch, White-crowned Sparrow, and Hermit Thrush.

In addition, I use few pesticides. In fact, one of my azaleas is so infested with thrips that a more regular program of spraying with horticultural oil would be very beneficial. I also have a very large compost bin and use a lot of mulch to keep down watering requirements and weeds. I have six bird feeders and one bird box, which I think I hung up too late because no one has explored it. Maybe next year.

My point is that if you enjoy birds, there are many things you can do to provide a friendlier habitat, but you need not do it all and certainly not all at once.

To begin making changes in your yard, Audubon suggests a habitat inventory that helps you assess your needs and identify features and creatures in the yard today. The worksheet for this assessment is similar in many respects to the analysis that a landscape designer would do, with an emphasis on how to create a healthy yard that is hospitable to wildlife.

Second, develop a habitat action plan by identifying and prioritizing tasks to be accomplished. One of these is fairly easy: pesticide use reduction. A healthy yard requires a conservative approach to pesticides — use as little as possible to avoid exposing children, pets, and yourself to toxics, and to protect beneficial critters such as spiders.

Audubon partners with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve backyard habitat and includes a pointer to the NRCS Backyard Conservation section.

NRCS asks gardeners to use the concept of thresholds, or how much plant damage you're willing to tolerate. It's not necessary to eliminate every pest in the yard, just to hold their predation to a reasonable level. Simple approaches to pest control can be very effective. For example, a strong spray of water will knock aphids and scale off citrus plants and roses. These sucking insects are herded by ants, which like the sugary nectar that the pests secrete. An application of a sticky product called Tangle Foot around the base of the plant will keep ants away and the herds under control.

Another practice that's particularly important for birds is to keep your cats indoors. In a 1997 Avocet article, Leda Beth Gray explains that even well-fed cats have a heavy impact on birds, especially fledglings, which have a tough enough time making it through their first year anyway. Indoor cats generally live longer than their indoor-outdoor cousins, who face danger from cars, communicable diseases, fights, and discarded food that can make them sick. You can also cut your veterinary bills because indoor cats need fewer shots and don't carry in fleas. Leda Beth offers tips on how to turn your outdoor felines into contented indoor kitties.

As for native plants, our backyard birds are best adapted to plants of the region, which they use for food, shelter, and nesting. Natives are also more drought-tolerant, insect-resistant, easier to maintain, and often more interesting than the stuff that everyone else plants. “Audubon At Home” suggests plant species for different regions of the country, updating selections periodically. Currently it recommends California Wax Myrtle (Myrica californica) and California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia).

Wax myrtle produces nutlets that persist on the tree through winter and attracts Northern Flicker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Tree Swallow, California Towhee and Spotted Towhee, among others. Few people have enough room for a big oak tree, but those who do are visited by Oak Titmouse, Nuttall's Woodpecker, chickadees, and about 30 other species.

Many other resources are available on gardening with native plants. These include the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, the Sunset Western Garden Book, Yerba Buena Nursery in Woodside, and native plant demonstration gardens at many locations in the Bay Area.

So don't feel guilty. If you're short of time, money, and patience, pick one or two projects that will move you away from a “one of these and one of those” yard and toward a healthy yard with a “birds welcome here” environment.

Last modified on August 22, 2005.