{"id":75742,"date":"2019-10-23T06:23:42","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T10:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=75742"},"modified":"2019-10-23T06:23:54","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T10:23:54","slug":"creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a backyard habitat, all winter long"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tioga County is home to a plethora of wildlife such as flying squirrels, tree frogs, blue birds and Cooper\u2019s hawks, and with a little backyard maintenance, local residents can set a stage for them to thrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to local wildlife and habitat experts it only takes a few changes in how people maintain their yards to give a boost to local biodiversity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn general to benefit the greatest number of species is to consider what wildlife need,\u201d said Christopher Audette, executive director of the Waterman Conservation and Education Center in Apalachin, adding, \u201cFor a good habitat there has to be food, water, cover, like a place to hide, and a place to raise their young.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you want to start small there is a list of things not to do before getting into new plantings and projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Don\u2019t clear brush or cut down dead trees unless they present a hazard to people or property. If it\u2019s going to ruin your roof get it out there but if a dead tree is on a corner and no one goes there, leave it alone,\u201d Audette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Creating
According to local experts, you can maintain your property in such a way as to encourage bugs like dragonflies\u00a0to come eat the bugs that annoy you. Provided photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dead trees are very important, they provide food for insects, which, in turn, provide food for birds and other animals. Dead trees also provide excellent nesting options for birds and mammals, and also provide a perch for birds of prey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlso if you have some brush you are thinking of clearing, if you can live with it leave it there. A brush pile on the property provides an area for birds and mammals to hide from predators, raise their young, and shelter from bad weather,\u201d Audette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While maybe not the best for aesthetic, not mowing or raking leaves from now until April will also give insects and small mammals a place to winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeaf litter is such an important habitat for insect species like the Luna moth, tiger moth, and the wooly bear caterpillar,\u201d Audette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insects aren\u2019t the only critters that rely on leaf litter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe leaf litter; that really helps certain kind of ground foraging birds,\u201d said Barb Neal of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want to leave your entire lawn un-mowed for that period of time, instead consider leaving a two-foot perimeter around the property. Both Neal and Audette agreed that not spraying pesticides is also very important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t just kill what you are targeting,\u201d Audette said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unintended consequences of pesticides often leads animals that rely on the insects to stay away as well, and if a tree absorbs the chemical it is possible that it could introduce it to the habitat through its seeds or fruit, he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving layered plants – from shortest plants to perennials, to shrubs and little trees to big trees, has a layered effect that is not only pleasant landscaping, but it also reduces bug pressure because the good guy bugs will take care of the bad guys because they either eat them or bully them out. Sometimes they even lay their eggs inside the bad bugs,\u201d said Neal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bat boxes, bird feeders and birdhouses also provide valuable habitat that will bring a variety of animals to your backyard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you see a hawk eat a robin, realize the feeder isn\u2019t there to just feed the birds that eat the seed but the entire habitat as well. There will be other robins,\u201d Audette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also very important to provide a water source, though this doesn\u2019t have to be anything particularly fancy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can literally be a plant saucer in the ground, a rock with a divot in it, it doesn\u2019t have to be an elaborate fish pond,\u201d Neal explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you want to not help the local mosquito population it is important to change the water regularly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t need our help,\u201d Audette exclaimed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planting extra shrubs and trees instead of grass not only gives animals more shelter and food options, but it also benefits homeowners in that it helps mitigate flooding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore shrubs and trees and less grass also benefit us as it absorbs more storm water and makes flooding a little less likely. Good reason to do it beyond just providing habitat,\u201d Neal said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a portion of your lawn that is prone to being water logged, there are marsh grass and plants that you can plant to suck up the water while at the same time creating a unique habitat in your backyard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey will use the water and stabilize the soil and create a little mini-wetland to help deal with that water inundation,\u201d Audette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is always important to consider your goals for your backyard when compared to existing problems. If you have animals eating your garden, maybe a brush pile isn\u2019t a good idea. If you are allergic to bees, maybe a pollinator garden wouldn\u2019t be the best for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsider compromises and be aware that there is potential to create wildlife contact; so if your goal is to help out all species and do the best you can, be aware you will have all species,\u201d Audette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are interested in having your backyard habitat certified, visit the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania at\u00a0http:\/\/aswp.org\/pages\/backyard-habitat-program<\/a>\u00a0or the National Wildlife Federation at\u00a0www.nwf.org\/CertifiedWildlifeHabitat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Backyard Conservation Workshop is scheduled for March 7 of 2020 at Waterman Conservation Center. For more information, visit www.watermancenter.org\/the-art-of-nature<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tioga County is home to a plethora of wildlife such as flying squirrels, tree frogs, blue birds and Cooper\u2019s hawks, and with a little backyard…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":75744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCreating a backyard habitat, all winter long - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating a backyard habitat, all winter long - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tioga County is home to a plethora of wildlife such as flying squirrels, tree frogs, blue birds and Cooper\u2019s hawks, and with a little backyard...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-23T10:23:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-10-23T10:23:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2019\/10\/Nature2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"4032\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/\",\"name\":\"Creating a backyard habitat, all winter long - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2019\/10\/Nature2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-23T10:23:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-10-23T10:23:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2019\/10\/23\/creating-a-backyard-habitat-all-winter-long\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2019\/10\/Nature2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2019\/10\/Nature2.jpg\",\"width\":3024,\"height\":4032,\"caption\":\"This wooly bear caterpillar, a Tioga local,\u00a0actually hatches in the fall and hibernates in the winter. 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