April 10, 2010
Hey there! Have you heard about
habitat certification in Shoreline?
More and more people
are getting their yards certified as Wildlife Habitats through
the National Wildlife Federation!
The certification requirements
are focused on providing the basic things that birds like me need to
be happy and healthy: food, water, shelter and a place to raise
our young. They are the same things that you need and by taking
care of us, it helps out all the other local wildlife too.
Having water nearby is critical.
We birds aren't fussy; an old plant saucer with rainwater is fine
for us. As you know you, water just needs to be changed a couple
of times a week to keep mosquito larvae from growing and we're happy
with that too. If you want birds to hangout in your yard,
water is the single most important invitation!
I'm a Spotted Towhee and
generally eat seeds, but in the spring and early summer I like to have
insect protein to feed my growing nestlings. It's wonderful
to know people are reducing pesticide use. It lets the insects
survive so we can eat them and it means the seeds I eat and shrubs I
nest in aren't poisonous to me either.
Speaking of shrubs, I love
the idea of making sure there is ground cover because I am a ground
nester and need a place to hide from predatory birds, rodents and cats
while I wait for eggs to hatch and my nestlings to take flight.
I especially like salal. It's a broadleaved evergreen that has
just the right amount of foliage to protect me from the weather all
year round.
I won't tell you where I
live, but I have found a house with a lot of dense, native ground cover
so now I nest there every spring! Even though I'm really pretty
shy, sometimes I let the home owner see me hopping back and forth in
my little scratch for seeds dance. They always seem to smile
when I do.
If you would like to invite
my friends to your home, just send out the invitation by making sure
you have clean water, good cover and some places to nest, I promise
they will come. Who knows? Some of them might even move right
in! It's easy to do. To see what others have done
and learn from local experts, mark your calendar for WOWTA the
Where Our Wild Things Are Habitat Tour this summer on July 10th
Also, go to: http://www.
We love it when habitat keeps getting better one backyard at a time.