10/13/09

Show Us Your Backyard!

Last week we did a post about turning your yard into a wildlife habitat. Because we received so many interesting comments, we thought we’d invite people to send in photos of their backyards. As we did for the photo contest, we’ll create a gallery of the backyard photos (see the photo contest gallery for example). Please send a jpeg (2 mb max).

We would also love to receive any tips you may have for creating a frog- or wildlife-friendly backyard. We’ll incorporate your tips (along with your name or whatever information you’d like to provide) into future posts.

As the weather gets colder, here’s a little armchair reading to get you dreaming about next year’s garden, or perhaps to get some ideas for last-minute fall planting. This book, Bringing Nature Home: Using Native Plants to Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens by Douglas Tallamy, was suggested by a commenter, Miriam Goldberger:

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You might also want to check out Miriam’s site, Wildflower Farms. She offers native North American perennial wildflowers, native grasses, and wildflower seeds.

And for inspiration, I leave you with a lovely video by another commenter, Ernie McLaney. His backyard is a wildlife habitat certified by the National Wildlife Federation, and he’s been involved in certifying all six campus locations of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. As he says, “It’s a great project to help increase awareness of the natural world around us.”

While watching the video, I noticed lots of birdbaths. Providing water for birds is one simple thing that everyone can do.

Looking forward to seeing your backyards!

10/6/09

Turn Your Backyard into a Wildlife Habitat

It’s that time of year (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) when we’re raking up leaves, cleaning up our backyards, and preparing for winter. But as we prepare for the first frost, we’re spending more time inside than outside and our backyards may be a bit of a mess.

I read an interesting article in The Independent (UK) the other day, “Why Untidy Gardens Make the Best Habitat for Wildlife.” My in-laws live in England and “garden” more or less means the same as “backyard” to Americans, though most English yards have a flower border. British readers, please correct me if I’m wrong!

Anyway, the article points out that town and city gardens provide a vital refuge for birds, insects, and other animals, including amphibians. Small gardens are as good as large gardens, urban gardens as important as suburban ones, and non-native plants are not always harmful to birds and insects.

Both city and suburban backyards can provide what Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson called “bridges” between protected areas, providing refuges for wildlife. These bridges serve as a vital corridor, for example, for amphibians, migrating songbirds, and other animals.*

My backyard falls into the category of “untidy.” I have a lax attitude as to what I allow to grow in it, including a Norway maple, which no one in my family likes. They claim it’s taking over the tiny backyard, which is true. Yet the tree also draws lots of birds. I have vines growing up walls that provide places for birds to hide in, and I have two birdbaths. I don’t use pesticides or herbicides.

What I’ve noticed is that this time of year I get lots of animal visitors. I have a robin couple living in the yard (not common the rest of the year). An amazing bird that I can’t even find in the bird book stopped by the other day. Birds come this time of year to eat the grapes on my grape vine, swooping down almost the same week each year.

You don’t have to do much to make your backyard a wildlife habitat. Just don’t be too neat—don’t hurry to clear up everything when the garden stops flowering. Some of this “debris” is important for wildlife to hide in or to eat.

Of course, I realize that some animals are pests and steps have to be taken to keep them out. When we’re in New Hampshire, we need to use special bear-resistant garbage cans. Some parts of the country have real problems with deer.

But I think we should try to give a helping hand to those animals and insects that need these wildlife bridges–amphibians, birds, honey bees, and so on.

Here are some more tips for fall planting from the Independent article:

  • plant large shrubs—shrubs and trees produce more vegetation where wildlife can live and eat
  • allow at least some flowers to turn to seed and let the lawn grow tall.
  • create a pond for insects and frogs, or buy or make a toad abode
  • don’t illuminate your garden/backyard at night with bright lights. This will disturb many nocturnal creatures
  • create a compost heap—they are miniature nature reserves in themselves.

See also the National Wildlife Foundation‘s site about attracting wildlife and getting your yard recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

This time of year we gardeners get a bit depressed as winter approaches. What are we going to do with ourselves until the first seed catalogs arrive in the mail in late winter? This fall I am looking at ways I can make my backyard more amenable to wildlife. I just received my Gardeners Supply catalog that has all kinds of birdbaths, birdfeeders, birdhouses, and other products to create an animal-friendly garden/yard.

Please add your suggestions for ways to attract backyard wildlife.

courtesy of Loudoun (VA) Wildlife ConservatoryCreating a frog pond, courtesy of Loudoun (VA) Wildlife Conservatory

*I got this from Earthtalk: Expert Answers to Everyday Questions about the Environment (Plume, 2009), an excellent book, by the way.

09/3/09

Urban Frogs' Love Calls Go Unanswered in Australia

Kirsten Parris, an Australian ecologist, has discovered that noise of traffic and machinery may be contributing to the decline of frogs in Melbourne.

Female frogs are attracted to male frogs that have the loudest calls. But what if they can’t hear them calling due to all the noise? Frogs have adapted—they are expending more energy to make their croaks louder, using higher pitches to drown out the lower frequency traffic. But frogs with low-pitched croaks are at a disadvantage. According to this article in Eco-Wordly, “Without the noise of the traffic and machinery, pobblebonk frogs can be heard by females at distances up to 875 yards. But add in some traffic and other noise, and the distance is reduced to only 46 feet!”

Living in a city, I’m all for reducing noise. Just today, I heard a jackhammer, a loud droning drill next door, police sirens, not to mention the sounds of cars, trucks, and planes. The question is, how can this noise be reduced? Any ideas? Perhaps during the frog mating season, people could be a little quieter! (Not an issue in our city however. No frogs here!)

The Pobbledonk or Banjo frog is named for its distinctive "bonk" call, which sounds like a banjo string being plucked. Photo by Donna Flynn

The Pobblebonk or Banjo frog is named for its distinctive "bonk" call, which sounds like a banjo string being plucked. Photo by Donna Flynn

To learn more about Aussie frogs, check out the Frogs Australia Network.

08/17/09

Harlequin Frogs of Costa Rica

In the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve of Costa Rica, there were once so many harlequin frog species (Atelopus) that it was hard not to step on them when walking alongside streams. But during the 1980s and 1990s, most of these frogs vanished due to deadly infectious diseases brought on by changing water and air temperatures.

Research done in Costa Rica shows that global warming makes clouds form higher above the forests where they cannot bring as much moisture to the ecosystems below. Dry spells are getting longer and in turn, many species are disappearing. Rising temperatures also shrink the cloud forests, which forces species to live closer together, spreading fungal diseases. The harlequin frog is on its way to extinction.

As J. Alan Pounds, research scientist at Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, has said on the Eco Preservation Society site:

Disease is the bullet killing frogs, but climate change is pulling the trigger. Global warming is wreaking havoc on amphibians and will cause staggering losses of biodiversity if we don’t do something fast.

A small population of Harlequin Frogs was discovered about 6 years ago in the Rainmaker Preserve in Costa Rica, one of the last remnants of primary rainforest in the Central Pacific.

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To get some idea of the incredible diversity of wildlife in the Rainmaker Preserve (which can be visited on eco-tours) check out this video :

Here is more information about the cloud forest of Costa Rica from the Monteverde Conservation League.

I am passing along a Care2 petition to urge Costa Rica’s Ambassador Escalante to do everything in his power to save this colorful little frog, along with many other endangered species affected by climate change.

07/24/09

Toad Abodes

This summer, you may want to encourage a toad or two to take up residence in your backyard or garden. One toad can eat up to 10,000 insect pests over the course of the summer. Toads like damp, shady areas and need shelter. If you want to attract a toad, you should provide a good home, or “toad abode” for it. Garden stores or online stores sell plain terracotta or even fancy toad abodes like the one below from Lucinda & Co.:

Toad Abode from Lucinda & Co.

Toad Abode from Lucinda & Co.

Toads need water, too, so you should leave tray of water near their abode. Line the toad’s home with leaf mold or leaf litter.  Don’t bring toads from elsewhere and put them in your yard (or let loose pet toads).  As with your frog pond, build it and (hopefully) the toad will come.

Here’s a solar-powered one with lights.

Solar Powered Toad Abode

Solar Powered Toad Abode

I’m almost tempted to buy this, but unfortunately I have no toads in my city backyard. Maybe I could use it as a Slug Abode (I’ve got a lot of them!).

Here some more suggestions from the National Wildlife Federation for making your own toad abode:

If you’re on a budget, you can improvise. For instance, half-bury a large flowerpot on its side in a shady spot. Or take the same pot, drill holes at the rim in the shape of a door, tap gently with a hammer to remove the chip, invert and decorate to your heart’s content (nontoxic paints, please). Another option: Arrange flat rocks with a toad-sized space underneath. Situate your toad abode in the shade—say, under a bush—and in the dampest spot in your yard, near a gutter downspout, air-conditioner drip or in a low spot that collects rainwater.

Toads are sensitive to toxins, so don’t use lawn and garden chemicals in your garden or backyard!

Speaking of toads, I’m working on post about Toad Lit, so please send along your suggestions for your favorite children’s books with toad characters.

06/26/09

Save Northern Leopard Frogs (and Protect Human Health)

A reader of FROGS ARE GREEN sent along information about a petition sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:

Endosulfan is a deadly poison that has been banned across the European Union and in many other countries, but not the U.S. This deadly poison is extremely dangerous for frogs, birds… and even people who are exposed to it.

Even low doses of endosulfan can be fatal to species like the threatened northern leopard frog, which is already in decline. In humans, endosulfan can cause birth defects and other health risks. In extreme cases, endosulphan exposure can cause unconsciousness and even death.

The U.S. has yet to take endosulfan off the market, but with your help we can change things for northern leopard frogs, farm workers and others threatened by this dangerous pesticide.

The deadline for public comments is Monday, June 29. Please urge the EPA to help protect our health, our environment, and our frogs by banning endosulfan.

They are trying to get 5000 signatures and so far have 1551. Please add your signature!

Northern Leopard Frog

Northern Leopard Frog