Green Living Ideas, Building Shelters for Winter Birds, Creating Wildlife Friendly Yards

Birdhouses make beautiful yard decorations and functional shelters for winter birds. Our feathered friends try hard to survive in blizzards, lightning storms, and heatwaves, so we can protect them by providing simple covers and caves. Here are some Green ideas for creating eco-friendly yards and bird-friendly gardens. As bad weather is approaching, we need to think about how we can help wildlife.

Birds and small animals seek shelter during extreme weather. Birds recognize changes in air pressure and sense an approaching storm. They seek refuge from wind and rain in dense shrubs on the downwind side of woods and use natural cavities to stay in a storm. We can make yards safe for birds to hide. Providing wildlife habitat is easier than you might think. There are many ways we can help birds when it storms in backyards.

Wildlife-friendly yard decorations, artworks improving the habitat

Low-maintenance, wildlife-friendly garden designs

Natural landscaping ideas to save money and make yards eco-friendly

Creating shelters for winter birds

Birdhouses

Clever recycling ideas for creating unique birdhouses

Colorful painting ideas for birdhouses making beautiful yard decorations

Rustic wood birdhouse design ideas

You can also buy or build birdhouses and wood boxes with an entry hole toward the bottom to help the box retain heat in winter. They might even have a perch inside.

Plants for protection

Plants that provide food for wildlife, like berries, seeds, nuts, and nectar, do double duty and provide shelter if they grow densely. Evergreens are particularly valuable since their foliage remains year-round. The more plants you incorporate into your yard landscaping and the more densely you plant them, the more protection you provide for wildlife.

Dead trees with cavities

Mature trees, small trees, and shrubs create layers of shelter. Dead and dying trees are essential in eco-friendly yards. As they decay, they lose branches and form cavities. Woodpeckers help create cavity shelters for winter birds and small animals.

Brush piles for wildlife

You can assemble simple structures that wildlife is eager to use for refuge. Brush piles mimic fallen trees and logs in natural areas. A domelike shape filled with spaces is perfect for wildlife shelters.

Rocks

You can do the same thing with rocks by stacking smaller stones on and around bigger ones to create mini-caves. A rock wall design without mortar provides lots of welcoming hiding places.

Birdhouse design ideas

  by Ena Russ   
   04.12.2021