What work has been done to improve this site for birds and other wildlife? How long did it take?

My mate and I moved into our house about two years ago and the first big project we wanted to tackle was the yard. Being an avid birder, my idea was to focus on plants that would attract birds. I had become particularly interested in native plants a few years ago on a bird walk after talking to a devoted native gardener.

We started in fall when we first moved in by doing a general clean-up as many plants and shrubs were dead and overgrown and there was a lot of junk. We re-shaped existing beds and added new ones. We also put up several varieties of feeders and a heated bird bath as well as constructing and placing nesting boxes in strategic areas.

Over winter, I did a lot of research and made many plant lists and maps while choosing which ones I believed would work best. I focused mainly on native species that would attract birds and insects. I ordered my plants from a native specialty nursery and, in June, we began planting. Unfortunately, we lost a large tree in the backyard during a storm, which also took down a large dead pine tree and two arborvitae, drastically changing lighting conditions, wildlife cover, and habitat in our yard. The birds liked the dead pine snag so we moved and re-planted it on the other side of the yard.

This year we continued to work on the beds, transplanting some of the natives that have come up from seed to other spots in the yard. We have also added a veggie garden and a wood pile. We have planted a pin oak sapling to replace the tree that fell last summer and are constantly making little changes and improvements as we continue to learn. This project will be on-going for years!

Are there any tough decisions that had to be made regarding its management? How were they handled?

I think the biggest initial challenge was deciding which existing plants to keep and which to get rid of. We had a number of non-native species in our yard but we didn’t want to eliminate everything at once. When deciding what non-natives to keep, I focused on what attracted the most birds (like our Mulberry and Weigela) and what provided good cover for birds (like our Japanese Maple and Crabapple). Many people also started giving me plants from their yards and it’s hard to say no to a plant! I also had to dwindle down my very large list of natives I wanted to plant, so as to leave some room for new species in the future.