Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. If you Google "Clemson, hgic 1700," you’ll find a guide to making your backyard a sanctuary for wildlife. Professor Drew Lanham says you don’t need a huge yard – creating a multi-layered landscape with large, mid-sized, and small trees and shrubs – especially natives that provide food as well as shelter can be accomplished in almost any space. One non-plant feature you need to include is a source of water, often the limiting factor for all sorts of animals, not just songbirds. Although a basin will satisfy birds, , with a little extra effort you can make a wetland that will bring frogs and toads and those fascinating dragon flies, as well. You’ll want to add some mosquito fish from a nearby creek or goldfish from the pet store to gobble up the mosquitoes – as they’re always going to be part of any South Carolina backyard.
A Guide to Making Backyard Habitat for Birds
