Giving Back to Nature by Protecting Native Flora and Fauna
Before Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana was blessed with an abundance of native plants and animals, but in August, 2005, the storm damage and the building boom that followed destroyed thousands of acres of precious natural habitat. Today many concerned individuals and organizations in South Louisiana and all over the United States are trying to preserve and replant natural areas. We can do it, if we all try by rebuilding one habitat at a time.
How to Create a Backyard Habitat
Spider on Sunflower & Black & Blue Damselfly by naturegirl7
Habitat, Habitat, Habitat.... If you plant it, they will come. To attract wildlife to your garden you must provide the 3 major requirements for the survival of any creature:
Food - in the form of plants (nectar, berry, and nut producing) and/or feeders.
Shelter/Cover/Nesting Sites - Evergreens are especially important for wintering Hummingbirds and natives are preferred nesting sites. Nest boxes can also be a pleasing addition to the garden or dead trees and limbs can be left standing.
Water - from a large pond to a birdbath, but dripping or moving water is most appealing.
Ruby-throated on Red Morning Glory & Giant Swallowtail Postcard by naturegirl7
Our property is a registered National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat (number 21325). We do everything possible to keep it natural and wild since natural wildlife habitats in the area are being destroyed at such a rapid pace. You don't have to have a large piece of property, even a small backyard can become a sanctuary for wild creatures.
Food
Natural Food
Here are some of the creatures favorites:
Nectar Producing for Hummingbirds and Butterflies - Salvias, Indian Pink (Spigellia marilandica), Coral Honeysuckle (Lonceria sempervirens), Black-eyed Susan family (Rudbeckia spp.), Coreopsis, Morning Glory (Ipomoea spp.). See more at our Hummingbird Gardening and our Gardening to Attract and Sustain Butterflies lenses.
Berries, Fruit and Nuts - Red Mulberry (Morus rubra), Flowering Dogwood (Cornus floridia), Black Cherry ( Prunus serotina), Huckleberry and Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), Oak, Pecan and Hickory to name a few.
Supplemental Feeders
Sugar Water - Make your own mixture, using white, granulated sugar at 4 parts water to 1 part sugar (ex. 1 cup of water to 1/4 cup of sugar). No boiling is required, just mix until the sugar is dissolved. Store extra in the refrigerator. Soak the feeders in a mild bleach solution for an hour when they look moldy. Don't soak too long or the plastic and metal parts will become corroded.
Seed - We feed Sunflower, cracked and whole corn (mostly for the birds) and Golden Nuggets (for the mammals).
Home Made Suet
2 cups (1 block) of LARD (animal fat)1 cup CRUNCHY Peanut butter (cheap kind)
1 cup of Oat meal
1 cup of unbleached flour
1 cup of corn meal or wheat germ
Melt the lard a little in a big glass bowl (30 sec. in the microwave) and mix all of the ingredients together. It gets messy so let the kids get involved, they'll love it! Line a rectangular pan with a sheet of wax paper and press the mixture in. Pop it in the freezer for an hour or so, then cut it into blocks. We find that smaller ones (4" x 2") work best because the birds eat it before it can mildew in the hot, humid weather. Store the blocks in a ziploc bag in the freezer and refill your suet feeder as needed.
Mealworms for the Bluebirds
Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle. The darkling beetle goes through four life-stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Larvae typically measure about 2.5cm or more, whereas adults are generally between 1.25 and 1.8cm in length.
Mealworms are used as a food source for reptile and avian pets. They are also put out for wild birds in bird feeders, particularly during the nesting season when birds are raising their young. They can be purchased at most pet stores and are also available via mail order and the internet. Mealworms are usually sold in a container with bran or oatmeal for food. Mealworm feeders are available on-line or you can make your own. Mealworms are easy to raise and many lessons can be learned during the process.
Feeding the Birds Video
Attracting and Feeding Birds
Keeping with the spirit of the season, Allen Smith says don't forget about feeding our fine-feathered friends. Here are some ideas for attracting and feeding birds.
Runtime: 1:43
1253 views
1 Comments:
Great Seed and Suet Feeders
Our Favorite Hummingbird Feeders
List of Bird and Wildlife Plants
With Pictures and Descriptions
This lens is getting a little long, so I decided to move the plant list that's here to a lens of it's own. I've added more plants that attract birds and animals and also more photographs and descriptions.-
Planting for Birds and Wildlife
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Welcoming birds and animals into our yard has been a most enjoyable experience. The beauty and motion that they add to the landscape makes the garden that we have created seem all the more beautiful. We have provided a planting list with photographs...
Vermicomposting YouTube vid
Global Worming
Vermicomposting! Using worms to compost your kitchen scraps for use in the garden.
Runtime: 7:02
3591 views
7 Comments:
Shelter and Nesting Sites
Little Tchefuncte Hummingbird Hill Habitat Diary Feed
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Solar & No Electricity Required Water Features
Water Features Requiring Electricity
More Water Feature Products
Bringing Nature Home
Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens
Amazon Price: (as of 07/11/2009)
Professor of Entomology, Tallamy, continues the work of the great Edward O. Wilson by detailing the importance of the relationship between native plants and insects in the cycle of life on planet Earth.
Book Review and Commentary - Bringing Nature Home
"If humans were to disappear, the effects on the insect world would be minimal. It's unlikely a single insect species would go extinct except three forms of body and head lice. (Close relatives of the parasites could still live on gorillas.) The complex web of life would continue "minus all the species we have pushed into extinction." But if insects were to disappear, Wilson speaks of "an ecological dark age" where "the survivors would offer prayers for the return of weeds and bugs."
He goes on to say, "Because it is we who decide what plants will grow in our gardens, the responsibility for our nation's biodiversity lies largely with us." While many people talk about the good old days, when a kid could go outside and catch a whole jar full of Lightening Bugs in a few minutes and they mourn the loss of the birds and butterflies they continue to cut down the native trees, shrubs and wildflowers that support these wondrous creatures, only to replace them with alien species that are usually not suitable for our climate or our wildlife.
Along with these problems come, what he considers the number one problem for biodiversity, paving with impervious surfaces. The second most serious blow against biodiversity is our love affair with sterile lawns. All over the world, 12% of bird species are being threatened with extinction due to habitat loss. We have taken their homes, their food and filled the world with dangerous obstacles like highways and high rise buildings filled with glass windows, to mention a few.
But Tallamy says that all is not lost if we act NOW, before masses of species are extinct. Humans can live in harmony with a variety of plant and animal species and must start to design living spaces that will accommodate both humans and wildlife in a functioning sustainable ecosystem that supports biodiversity.
Because humans have already impacted nature on almost every place on the planet, we must discard the idea of "pristine nature" and go forth with a program of "reconciliation ecology" (Michael Rosenzweig, 2003) to redesign human habitats to accommodate other species. By replacing exotic turf lawns and alien plants with food producing, insect / wildlife friendly native plants in our suburban yards we can take a giant step towards preventing the catastrophic blow to our food supply that the failure of animal pollinated fruits and vegetables would cause.
Even though the book is written from a "northern" perspective, some southern flora and fauna are also covered. The message of this book can not be ignored. We must act now to save the insects and to save the Earth.
Great Habitat, Plant and Animal Books
Flora and Fauna Products We Created
Nature Products We Created
Save Butterflies White T-Shirt
Price: 17.99
Save Butterflies 3.5" Button
Price: 5.49
Swallowtail on Pickerel-weed Greeting Cards (Pk of
Price: 16.99
Swallowtail on Pickerel-weed Cap
Price: 17.99
Swallowtail on Pickerel-weed Tote Bag
Price: 14.99
More Lenses About Native Habitats
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15 Easy to Grow Southern Wildflowers
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Here are 15 easy to grow native flowering perennials that are guaranteed to thrive in the hot, humid areas of the coastal southern United States and in other parts of North America, too. As we move toward sustainability, native plants are becoming mo...
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Gardening with Native Plants
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Using native plants in the landscape and sustainable gardening are 2 hot topics, today. This lens will provide you with native plant lists, techniques, and links to more information that will get you started on the way to creating an ecologically hea...
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Snakes of Louisiana
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Snakes are probably one of the most controversial animals. You either love them or hate them. Snakes are a very important link in the food chain and without them our earth would be overrun with vermin and harmful insects. Here in Louisiana there are...
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Nest Box Trails for Bluebirds and Others
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Lawrence Zeleny's book, the Bluebird How You Can Help Its Fight for Survival, alerted the public about the peril of our native Bluebirds. Now people all over North America are building and maintaining Bluebird Trails. Anyone can start their own trail...
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Amazing Amphibians of Louisiana
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Amphibians are an interesting and very important class of animals and there are certainly plenty of them here in Louisiana. We have everything from large Bullfrogs to tiny Tree frogs, Toads that keep the garden free of harmful insects and even secret...
Organic Fertilizing Video
Organically Fertilize your Garden
Allen shows us how to organically fertilize your vegetable garden.
Runtime: 1:32
1552 views
0 Comments:
Louisiana Flora for the Children's Corner
Magic School Bus Goes to Seed Part 1 Video
Magic School Bus Goes to Seed Part 2 Video
Magic School Bus Goes to Seed part 3 Video
Louisiana Fauna for the Children's Corner
A Favorite Quote
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.
Motto of the Baltimore Grotto
Visit Louisiana, Sportsman's Paradise
Go Green with these Environmental Tips
Let us hear about the native flora and fauna where you live.
Bill wrote
I was checking out other sites on Louisiana and found this one. My wife loves the hummingbirds. We are in the process of putting in a backyard garden. It is our favorite living space. I will be checking back from time to time. Great site!
I just started my own site here at www.squidoo.com/Tickfaw . This is about the Tickfaw State Park just south of Springfield Louisiana.
Posted May 29, 2009
ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...
Welcome to the Totally Awesome Lenses Group.
Lizzy
Posted October 25, 2008
WorldTravelers916
great lens, keep up the good work, i love all the article!
auction fantasy football
Posted September 08, 2008
nilamdoc wrote...
Nice Page and information... Please visit mine too... We love nature.. and want to preserve it...
http://www.squidoo.com/MyBeautifulWorld
Posted August 30, 2008
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About Naturegirl7
Lensmaster naturegirl7, aka Yvonne and Al B., has been a member since April 22 2008, has rated 337 lenses, favorited 358, and has created 124 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "7-up Cake Recipes". See all my lenses
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by naturegirl7
My husband and I have always loved nature and the outdoors. We currently maintain a 9 acre private wildlife preserve.
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