Review it Wednesday: Create Your Own Backyard Wildlife Habitat

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I received product and/or compensation in exchange for this review.

As I sit on my patio, I revel in the entertainment in front of me courtesy of the wildlife in my backyard. The variety of birds is sometimes astounding and some of the squirrels seem to be part of the family. Even my cat, Theo, ignores them when they approach the porch hoping for nut or two.

Concerned about how the neonicotinoids were killing off bees and butterflies at alarming rates, we planted a pollinator garden last summer in the middle of our yard. All the flowers are free of neonics and other bee-killing toxins. While we can't control what our neighbors do when it comes to RoundUp and Scott's Lawn Service, we keep all that crap off of our lawns and gardens.

Obviously, we care about the environment and wildlife. But we have selfish reasons for doing some of the things we do as well. Sometimes we do things simply because we want to enjoy our backyard wildlife habitat. From cardinals to goldfinches to pileated woodpeckers, we delight in the sights and sounds as we sit on the porch and take it all in.

Cedar waxwing eating serviceberry

When photographer and writer, Doris Dumrauf, released her book, Create Your Own Backyard Wildlife Habitat, I was thrilled! I've long admired Dumrauf's photography. So I contacted her and asked her if I could review the book for her here on the blog. She graciously accepted and sent me a book.

Excitedly, I opened the package and I was not disappointed. The photographs are stunning! While the book can be used by adults to start their own wildlife habitat, it is geared toward young readers. I love that children can get a glimpse into the wonderful world of birds, butterflies, and the backyard's furry creatures through Dumrauf's superb photos. The book is simply enchanting as much as it's educational. 

The text gives each creature its own point of view, as each page is written in first person, whether it's the great horned owl "talking" or a painted skimmer. Featuring 19 different species, Dumrauf gives the reader reason to fall in love with each one.

Concerned you just don't have the room for a backyard wildlife habitat? Dumrauf addresses that concern:

"A back yard does not have to be big to provide habitat for wildlife. To attract wildlife to your yard, all you need to offer are food, water, shelter, and a place to raise the next generation."

Excellent! If you have have a back yard, or a front yard for that matter, you have what you need to start attracting wildlife. Let Doris Dumrauf's book, Create Your Own Backyard Wildlife Habitat, get you started on the right foot. Click here to buy this beautiful paperback.

***

Doris Dumrauf grew up in the West German state of Rheinland-Pfalz, a region with a huge concentration of U.S. military bases. Her childhood experiences, combined with her long employment on a U.S. air base and a love of history, became the inspiration for her novel, Oktober Heat. After moving to the United States in 1995, Doris published numerous articles in magazines and newspapers. She is an award-winning nature photographer and public speaker.

Native plants... their place and purpose in our gardens

I met today's guest blogger at the first Pennwriter's meeting I attended at the Eat 'n Park in Robinson Township, PA several months ago. In addition to being a writer, Doris Dumrauf is an award-winning nature photographer and speaker. She speaks to civic groups about backyard habitats for birds and insects. Her blog, Birds with Personality, covers birding and gardening topics. 

Cedar waxwing eating serviceberry

Gardens are works in progress. Years ago, we landscaped our front yard with the usual suspects: Bradford pears, spireas, privet hedges, burning bushes, and azaleas. In other words, our yard looked just like every other yard. 

Then, we became interested in native plants. We removed the ugly pear tree and planted an Eastern redbud instead. Its pink flowers not only brighten up our entire street, but they are also one of the earliest blooms in the spring and attract many insects. These insects, in turn, provide pollination. But insects serve another purpose: they feed birds when they need it most: during the time when they are nesting and feeding their young.

Spicebush swallowtail larva eating spicebush leaf

Insects are the little things that drive the world and are a very important part of the natural food chain. The lawns that Americans love so much do not support wildlife at all. In an effort to have a “perfect” lawn, homeowners use more pesticides per acre than agriculture. These pesticides are not only deadly to birds, other wildlife, and beneficial insects, they also pose health risks for humans and their pets. There is a better way to garden.

When we erected a storage shed in our backyard we had to find a purpose for an about 13x13 feet corner on which nothing grew, except rocks. We brought in topsoil and I planted a wildflower seed packet because I wanted a butterfly garden. A year later, I had the result I had envisioned. We were hooked. We made ourselves knowledgeable about native plants and started another native garden. Every year we add new plants to it and observe more and more insect varieties as time goes by. Two kinds of milkweed – common milkweed and butterfly weed – attract Monarch butterflies. Bumble bees and honey bees are drawn to the purple coneflower. Other butterflies prefer the blazing star. Tubular flowers attract hummingbirds. The spicebush swallowtail lays its eggs in the spicebush. Finches devour the seeds as the flowers mature. You get the picture.

Monarch butterfly on Joe-pye weed

A real eye opener for us was Professor Douglas W. Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home (Timberpress). He writes that planting alien plants has several consequences: 

•  Native insects cannot digest alien plants. 
•  Alien plants often beget alien insects or fungi, which in turn cause havoc in our environment. 
•  Non-native plants become invasive and replace native plants in the wild.

Alien plants are any plants which were, accidentally or on purpose, introduced into the United States. Alien plants do not provide any host plants for native insects, and thus are not part of the natural food chain. 

Bringing Nature Home lists native plants by geographical area. It also highlights the plants that support the most Lepidopera species. Soil conditions and amount of sunlight available in your yard also play a role in the decision process. Once they’re established, native plants can also tolerate drought conditions better than alien plants.

No matter where you live, there is a native plant available for your yard. Give it a try!

***

For more information and for samples of her work and publication credits, visit Doris's website. Photographs on this post may not be reproduced without prior permission from Doris Dumrauf. She may be reached at ddumrauf@verizon.net.