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Wildlife Habitat Certification

By Linda G. Archer

Bees traveled from bloom to bloom on the salvia stalks, adding pollen to the bright yellow bundles building up on their hind legs. These were the small, sweet honeybees, so beleaguered of late and so important to the human food supply. We were very happy to welcome them to the garden.

Bright green, native tree frogs graced our evenings with their songs. We were very happy that they had found homes within the bromeliads. Nearby also were anoles, some the brown invasives, but a few of the slender, green natives as well. Little clouds of insects hovered also, providing meals on wings for small, hungry predators, including the occasional toad living near a garden water fountain.

Dragonflies love to eat termites and provide fascinating forms and flight, but are no match for Mockingbirds who easily capture them with quick and accurate attacks. These birds' cheery morning chorus is a pleasure to hear and they have stayed near making nests and raising families around the house for several years.

Gulf Fritillary butterflies showed up within half an hour after we planted our first Purple Passion Vine. As host plant for this species and others, we enjoyed watching the entire life cycle of butterflies, from the egg, to the caterpillar, to the chrysalis, to finally, one day even catching the amazing emergence of a brand new beautiful butterfly.

Lots of birds visit our backyard feeders, including song birds, water and wading birds, various raptors (as evidenced by the occasional pile and scattering of feathers as one takes a dove for a meal for itself or its young), plus a ten-year resident Sand hill Crane who raises a family every year, charming the neighborhood with his fuzzy, yellow chicks.

We once chanced upon snake eggs when we were replacing a plant. We left them undisturbed. Our curiosity got the better of us one day a couple months later and we checked again only to find a newly hatched baby checking us out too, a bit indignant that we would be so bold as to peek in the nursery! We see an adult Black Racer now and then, but were quite pleased to see this little one. We hope that at least some occupants of the 6 successfully hatched eggs we found in the clutch continue to survive and hang out around the house. We never saw baby water turtles, but we were lucky enough to see the mom make her nest and lay her eggs. Our yard offers a rare patch of bare earth and the turtle moms seem glad to find it.

Rarely, we also see opossums (little yard cleaners who sweep through and move on), armadillos (not native to Florida, but great for eating nasty ants), and raccoons. More rarely, we see deer and we have seen Bobcat. In fact, one came into the backyard and pick up a rabbit to go for his dinner!

Bunnies and lots of squirrels are numerous and keep us entertained with their antics. Both stay fat on the corn at our ground feeding station. Though they check it out now and then, squirrels do stay away from our Safflower seed feeder. Squirrels don't like Safflower seed, but Cardinals love it and we put it out especially for them. We keep it next to the suet feeder hanging near a window where we enjoy a wide assortment of wonderful avian visitors during breakfast and throughout the day. Each spring we watch for the return of pairs of Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and others to raise their babies. This year there have been many Brown Thrashers as well.

New to our yard this year is a dead tree! We were sorry to have the palm tree die, but love having this feature which is very attractive to the woodpeckers who already have numerous holes in it. It is close to the giant bird of paradise plant whose blooms hold water to offer birds a ready fresh water drink throughout the day and in a safe spot.

Over the past few years we've replaced exotic plants in the yard with native ones. These native plants are doing better, look prettier, and require less water. They are also more resistant to some maladies and need fewer toxic chemicals to thrive. They also offer food and shelter to wildlife; and, we hoped, replaced a small portion of their needs that had been taken from them by our own home. We wanted to create a wildlife habitat.

When a seminar was advertised at a local garden center (Rockledge) for creating a wildlife habitat, I had to go to get even more ideas. At the seminar, information was also going to be provided not only for creating a wildlife-friendly landscape, but also about the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Habitat Certification program. I was very excited and I was not disappointed. The seminar was terrific and I found that I was already certifiable! Well, our yard habitat already met their requirements! After that, the certification process was simple and easy and available on line. Anyone reading this is probably already certifiable, too! Well, I mean your wildlife habitat too, of course.

The National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Habitat Certification has four basic requirements. These are: Water, Food, Cover, and Places to Raise Young. The lady who conducted the seminar was Ms Betsy Frantz, freelance nature writer and photographer, who has additional information about attracting wildlife in Brevard County at Project Backyard Brevard www.backyardbrevard.com. She narrowed the NWF's requirements down to three: Safety, Water, and Food. Safety issues included not only protection from weather and natural predators, but also protections from domestic dogs and, particularly, domestic cats (who should enjoy indoor lives), as well as toxic chemicals. When areas are sprayed for insects, birds are threatened because, of course, many of them eat insects. So, their food supply is either eliminated entirely or they are poisoned by eating dying insects. All butterflies and dragonflies are killed as well, along with all butterflies in the caterpillar stage. Much of the pesticides used end up entering the increasingly fragile Indian River Lagoon, doing further damage to it and all the life forms it harbors and supports, including our own. So, according to Ms Frantz, safety issues come first for creating suitable habitat for wildlife, then water, then food, preferably from plants with feeders secondary. Additional information on the National Wildlife Federation's Certification program and the application can be obtained from www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife. There is a small charge, but you received membership for a year and a very nice certificate. A sign suitable for posting in your yard is also available for an additional charge. Another great thing about the NWF's Certification program is that lot or property size doesn't matter. As long as the basic requirements are met, your area can be certified. Condo owners and Corporations participate. Locally, Florida Today on US 1 has a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

With the information from the seminar, we pursued the application process and were awarded our certification! We have recently received our certificate and we ordered the sign as well. It has arrived also and I am anxious to get it mounted on a post. I'm thinking a post that will support a wood duck box on the other side of it. If we did nothing more in our yard, I'd be happy with the current conditions as wildlife is thriving around the house, but we do have lots more plans. We want to put in more native plants to entice hummingbirds and more butterflies. We want to remove more of the grass to decrease needs for water, and chemicals, and replace it with more mulch (though not from cypress trees). We want to add more water features, including a rain barrel, and more feeders, along with bird houses and boxes to tempt bats to take up residence.

One warning about creating a Wildlife Habitat is that it seems to be addictive! You just keep seeing more ways to make life better for the birds and other creatures. The pay back is that it is all returned to you tenfold! I've found enjoying our wildlife garden to be very restful and restorative, yet there is always more a person can learn. Albert Einstein said, "Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." With a wildlife habitat you can have this gift everyday and you'll probably agree with Aristotle, as I do, when he said, "There is something marvelous in all things of nature."