Backyard Wildlife

*** Use the gray Backyard Wildlife navigation menu on the left to open new pages! ***

We've spent a lot of time making our yard wildlife-friendly. We've put in lots of vegetation and a small pond, and keep our bird feeders stocked. There's a tropical plant area, a Texas native plant section, and a rock garden. It’s really a pretty small yard, and in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, but it’s amazing how much wildlife it can still attract.

In 2006 our yard was certified by the National Wildlife Federation as an official Wildlife Habitat.

At the urging of my students I've been taking photographs of the animals that I find in our yard and posting them to my website. This provides something of an inventory of what might be expected in a Clear Lake area suburban yard, and also serves as a simple identification guide for students who see a "red bird" frequenting their feeder and want to know what it is.

While I've been able to assemble a pretty comprehensive listing of vertebrates, I quickly realized that there are just too many invertebrates (insects, in particular) for me to document them all. While I will still post images of the most interesting insects that I find, I must regretfully admit that I don't have room for them all.

I have arranged the photos by Class, as you'll see after clicking the gray "Backyard Wildlife" triangle in the Navigation Bar to the upper left. As a reminder, Kingdoms (such as the Animal Kingdom) get broken down into Phyla, and Phyla get broken down into Classes. For example:

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Insecta (Wasps, Butterflies, Dragonflies, etc.)

Class Arachnida (Spiders, Scorpions, Ticks, and Mites)

Class Myriapoda (Millipedes and Centipedes)

Phylum Chordata / Subphylum Vertebrata (the Backboned Animals)

Class Osteichthyes (Bony Fish)

Class Amphibia (Amphibians, like Frogs and Toads)

Class Reptilia (Reptiles, like Snakes and Lizards)

Class Aves (Birds, like Hawks and Sparrows)

Class Mammalia (Mammals, like Squirrels and Raccoons)

I'd love to see photos of the animals that my students encounter in their own backyards, especially if it's something that I don't already have posted on this website. If it's a nice enough photo of a new animal, then I might even add it to the website! Send the photo(s) here: clowe@ccisd.net.