Page 32 - BRN April 2021
P. 32

 Here in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert the list of plants and animals that may be interested in inhabiting your yard, or even your flowerpots and vegetable garden is so long. When thinking about all of those possibilities, there are two broad ways of getting organized. One way is to choose a set of species you want to target, like breeding summer songbirds, resident species, pollinators, hummingbirds, or quail, which are likely in your area. Learn what they want in terms of food, shelter, and water, then select plants and water features that will provide that. You will probably need to put in some extra resources, like more water or soil amendments, particularly lots more organic matter, with non-native plants that may be especially attractive to the birds or insects you want. Native species will already be dialed in to our conditions and need less coddling, but you will probably have to look harder to find them in most commercial greenhouses or nurseries, although there are some that specialize in natives. Using non-natives rather than natives is a sort of ecological gentrification, they usually require more maintenance and resources than native species. Sometimes, natives will respond very well to the same care required by non- natives – more water, fertilizer, mulching, and pruning. Trim a creosote up and it will look like a boxwood. It will use half the water plus you get that wonderful desert incense when it rains! You will need to do some research to make sure you have the proper soils, weather, exposure, elevation, maintenance needs and such for your target plants and decide if you can provide for them long-term.
The second way is to choose a habitat you like that is already in your space, generally based on native species, then work to enhance it and see who comes to dinner. Native plants are already able to tolerate local conditions, and wildlife is adapted
to them. In the long run, it is easiest by far to start by looking at what you have, knowing what already likes growing in those conditions, maybe adding a few extras, and then working with that.
What you can help provide:
• A diversity of food and nutrients – weeds, seeds, flowers, and bugs buffet;
• A diversity of shelter – pokey, brushy, thick, under the eaves or a snug hole; and
• Water – shallow, easy to drink or bathe in, and a bit of drip is extra attractive!
Don’t let your cats roam outside!
Native species of plants are to be preferred wherever possible, for not only do they require less work and water generally, but they, the birds, insects, and other creatures ARE the local ecosystem, mutually dependent and adapted, for thousands, perhaps millions, of years. Few, if any, species from other places will quite fit in the same way. Be aware that a lot of nurseries will tell you they sell native plants but do not really make a distinction between actual native species and exotic species that are naturalized. Everything is native somewhere, just not necessarily to the Northern Chihuahuan Desert. For example, I do not know how many nurseries have tried to convince me that thornless, upright mesquites are native. They are not. They are from Chile. Only honey and screwbean mesquites are native here, and they are rarely good sellers as they are thorny, so
 Winter can be especially stressful for bird species. Species like this Ruby-crowned Kinglet require high-calorie foods when it is especially cold. If you are offering supplemental food, consider providing a variety of food types, including suet.
31
























































































   30   31   32   33   34