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Green Anole exploring a front yard.
Green tree frog warming up on a road.
In order to create usable habitat for a variety of species on your land, you'll need to know what types of animals to expect and their typical needs.
The needs of wildlife can include food sources, sometimes including very specific plants, water for drinking or bathing, shelter in which to sleep or hide from predators, and a safe space in which to lay eggs and raise young. More varied environments in terms of the number of different plants and other food sources will support a greater variety of wildlife!
Typical backyard wildlife includes reptiles (such as lizards, turtles, and snakes), amphibians (such as frogs and salamanders), birds (often songbirds but possibly owls, hawks, and other larger birds), insects (like dragonflies, beetles, bees, butterflies, and ladybugs), and mammals (usually small mammals such as bats, rabbits, and squirrels, but sometimes also deer, bears, foxes, and other larger species).
What wildlife might you provide habitat for?
Birds (i.e. songbirds, hawks, owls, hummingbirds, ducks, and geese)
Small mammals (i.e. squirrels, rabbits, foxes, and raccoons)
Larger mammals (i.e. deer, coyotes, and bears)
Amphibians (i.e. frogs and salamanders)
Reptiles (i.e. lizards, turtles, and snakes)
These varied animals have different needs, many of which can be easily provided.
A raccoon washing a meal in a stream.
A Gray fox walking along a log.
What do backyard wildlife need?
Food (i.e. plants that provide nectar, fruit, or seeds or bird feeders)
Water (i.e. mud puddles or shallow dishes)
Places to hide (i.e. brush pile, plants, grasses, or leaves)
Places to breed or raise young (i.e. bird houses, bat roosts, or specific plants required by certain species)
White-tailed deer using the Eno River State Park in Durham. This area passes between neighborhoods, providing safer routes away from roads for deer to travel.
Migratory birds, like Canada Geese, may not be found in an area year-round; however, they need spaces to stop and rest, eat, and raise young during their long journeys.
Wildlife can also be classified by what they eat! This can help you decide which types of foods to provide!
In broad terms:
Carnivore
(eat meat)
-Red Wolves
-Bobcats
-Red-tailed hawks
-Coyotes
Omnivore
(eat both plants and meat)
-Black bears
-Raccoons
-Striped skunks
-Gray foxes
Herbivore
(eat plants)
-White-tailed deer
-Cottontail rabbits
-Gray squirrels
-Groundhogs
Opossums are widely misunderstood nocturnal creatures rarely seen by people. They help control insects like ticks, clean up dead animals, and consume fallen fruits and vegetables including rotting ones.
A Striped Skunk munching on dandelions. Skunks also frequently get a bad rap; however, they are also scavengers, which clean up dead animals, and control garden pests like mice, beetles, and moles.
There are also more specialized categories:
Carnivores can be:
Insectivores
(primarily eat insects)
-Eastern bluebird
-Little brown bat
-American five-lined skink
Piscivores
(primarily eat fish)
-Bald eagle
-Great blue heron
-North American river otter
Herbivores can be:
Frugivores
(primarily eat fruit)
-Cedar waxwing
-House finch
-Eastern cottontail
Plants to use:
-Red Mulberry
-Sugarberry
-American Holly
-Black Cherry
-Serviceberry
-Flowering Dogwood
-Native Blueberry
-Native Viburnum
-Elderberry
-Flowering Crabapple
Nectarivores
(primarily eat nectar)
-Ruby-throated hummingbird
-Baltimore oriole
Plants to use:
-Yellow Buckeye
-Native Roses
-Sourwood
-Red Buckeye
-Mountain Laurel
-Native Rhododendron
-Columbine
-Swamp Milkweed
-Purple Coneflower
-Native Azaleas
Granivores
(primarily eat seeds)
-Northern cardinal
-Mourning dove
-Northern bobwhite
Plants to use:
-Switchgrass
-Bluestem
-Black-eyed Susan
-Goldenrods
-Native Sunflowers
-Tag Alder
-Native Oaks
-Native Maples
-Hickories
-Native Pines
Folivores
(primarily eat leaves)
-Groundhog
-Eastern cottontail
-Canada goose
Plants to use:
-Black willow
-Elms
-White and Green Ash
-Hackberries
-American Sycamore
-Eastern Redbud
-Magnolias
-Sweetgum
-Tulip Poplar
-Wax Myrtle
Some animals stay strictly within these definitions, while others have a more generalized diet and can eat different types of food when their preferred food is scarce. This often occurs due to seasonally changing availabilities of foods such as fruit and nectar!
Likewise, many of the plants listed above provide several types of food for herbivores. For instance, black cherry trees provide both fruit and nectar in addition to being important larval hosts for caterpillars and other insects.
Alternatively, some animals prefer very specific types of fruit, insects, or plants and may even survive only on that one food item. For example, Zebra Swallowtail butterflies lay their eggs primarily on Pawpaw trees, and hatched caterpillars rely on pawpaw leaves for food.
Eastern box turtles can be found wandering through yards in the Durham area.
Eastern cottontail rabbit grazing in a yard.
What can you do to create backyard habitats?
Preserve what's already natural and leave some of your backyard space alone.
Provide a source of fresh water, such as a bird bath, water fountain, or shallow bowl. Make sure it is cleaned out regularly to prevent pests like mosquitos and disease transmission between wildlife.
Plant native plants that provide food, nectar, and shelter to wildlife. These may survive better than non-native plants and will give wildlife better nutrition. Provide a variety of food sources and plants that fruit and flower at different times of the year.
Feed birds with healthy bird food. Make sure feeders are cleaned regularly and old food is discarded to prevent disease. Hot pepper suet can be used to prevent mammals like raccoons and squirrels from eating the birds' food.
Build birdhouses or bat houses to provide space for them to sleep and raise young. A baffle can be used on birdhouse poles to prevent snakes and some other predators from climbing up to them. Bats are nocturnal pollinators and also help control insect populations!
Provide shelter for many smaller species by creating brush piles and leaving logs, stumps, and other natural debris.
Leave leaves where they fall to provide habitat and shelter for wintering insects like butterflies and other small creatures. They will also provide natural fertilizer for your yard!
Backyard bird houses, like this bluebird house, can provide a safe habitat for birds to nest and raise young.
Water is necessary for all life, big and small.
What types of wildlife should be our main focus? Visit the next page to find out.
All photos were taken by Kate Hankins.
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