Regardless of the size of your "backyard," you may have the opportunity to create a space where wildlife reside or visit. A small courtyard of shrubs and vines can become a playground for songbirds and chipmunks. Or, an expansive lawn may lure in deer, geese, songbirds, and squirrels.

Also, by creating a wildlife friendly backyard, you may enjoy less yard work and decreased watering and maintenance. The changes may also provide visual screens, windbreaks, and reduce noise.

Even though you may want to attract a variety of wildlife species to your backyard, your property may not be large enough to provide all the habitat needs for the type of wildlife you wish to attract. Wildlife require varying amounts of food, water, cover, and space. The shrubs and birdbath on your property may provide songbirds with cover and water respectively, but those same birds may have to use your neighbor's yard to find food. You may wish to work with your neighbors on an overall management plan, which may help invite a larger variety of wildlife.

Before you begin your backyard project, you need to do some preparation and planning. Fall is the perfect time to do these activities. Start the process by creating a game plan. There are five steps in this planning process: 1) Evaluate the land; 2) Set and prioritize goals; 3) Write a management plan; 4) Implement; and 5) Monitor results.

What do you currently have in your backyard? Create a list of all the plant and tree species that you have on your property and map out where they are located. Reflect on the wildlife species that you have seen and try and remember what time of the year it was. Was it for a day, a couple weeks, or an entire season? By evaluating your land, you will be able to determine what type of species your property can benefit and/or what changes you may need to implement.

Also, think about how your property fits into the local landscape. Do your woods merge with your neighbors'? Do fencerows connect your land to other properties?

Next, conduct a literature search on the species that you would like to attract. Learn about their habitat and food requirements. Compare that information to the inventory list that you compiled.

Now that you have an understanding of the needs of the wildlife you would like to attract and how that fits in with your current property, you can begin setting management goals. To accomplish a goal, it is often useful to break it into smaller subgoals or objectives, and then identify actions to be completed. A goal is generally broad in scope; objectives are more specific measurable outcomes, and actions are very task-oriented. It is also important to consider a variety of alternatives to meeting a specific goal, which will prepare you in case problems arise while working through your objectives and actions.

Once your goals are set, prioritize their importance and determine whether they can be realistically achieved. This will help you to plan accordingly and complete the most important goals first.

You are now ready to put your ideas on paper. This plan should outline the steps that you will take in order to reach your goals. Create a new drawing of your property and label what is going to be in each area (see map). Indicate where you will have shrub plantings, a butterfly garden, or a bluebird house. Next, establish a timeline outlining the actions that need to be completed. Implementation may realistically take 3 to 5 years.

What does this word mean? ...NATIVE: A plant or animal originating, growing, or produced in a certain place.

Switchgrass is a native warm season grass to Michigan. It grows in the hot summer months. Because it is a thick, clumpy grass, it provides excellent protection for a variety of animals during the winter.

Critter Quiz

Which of the following Michigan mammals can walk on water? (scroll to the bottom of this page for the correct answer!)
A. River Otter
B. Water Shrew
C. Long-tailed Weasel

This small animal, which resembles a mouse, has fringes of hair on its feet that trap air bubbles, allowing it to walk on water. It weighs only 1/3 ounce and is found among rocks and fallen logs on the edges of coldwater streams in northern Michigan.

Creature Profile

Michigan is home to eleven species of turtles. Many of these species are becoming increasingly rare due to natural and unnatural causes alike. Among these is the state special concern wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta). Still found across the middle and western Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, Michigan’s wood turtle population has become largely fragmented in many places.

The wood turtle’s scientific name means "sculptured turtle." This name is appropriate, as its brown carapace (shell) appears as though it was actually carved from wood. Present on the carapace scutes (the individual sections of the carapace) are annuli, or rings. These rings can be used to estimate the age of juveniles and subadults; this method often underestimates the true age of mature specimens. The plastron (underside of the turtle) and the lower surfaces of the neck, legs, and tail are yellow or yellowish orange in color. The carapace of most adults measures 16 to 25 cm (6.3 to 9.8 in.) in length.

Wood turtles are most common in or near sandy-bottomed streams or rivers. They can occasionally be found in streams with partially rocky or silty beds. Most stay in or near the water the entire year. Those found on land are usually within 150 m (500 ft.) of moving water. Wood turtles are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they will eat almost anything when presented with an easy meal. Primary foods include leaves, berries, algae, fungi, insects, slugs, snails, and earthworms. Some worm hunting wood turtles have been observed "thumping" the ground, accomplished by alternating movements of the front feet or by pushing down with the front feet to lift and then drop the front of the plastron. The resulting vibrations are thought to cause the earthworms to surface, where they are captured and eaten by the turtle.

Nearly all wood turtles hibernate underwater, resting unburied on the stream bottom or wedging under a submerged object such as a rock, log, or overhanging bank. Upon emerging from hibernation in late April-early May, they begin foraging and pursuing mates. Mating takes place in May, occurring in shallow water almost all of the time. Females typically select open nest sites with little or no vegetative cover in moist sand or sandy soil, sufficiently elevated above the water so that flooding is unlikely. Nest cavities are dug with the hind feet, and a clutch of 3 to 18 (usually 5 to 13) eggs are deposited then covered. Incubation typically lasts from 47 to 69 days. Nest mortality is often greater than 80%, with raccoons being the most efficient and persistent predator. Other predators include skunks, mink, otters, foxes, coyotes, and ravens. Those hatchlings that do survive emerge in late August or early September, are usually gray, tan, or brown in color, and range in size from 2.8 to 3.8 cm (1.1 to 1.5 in.). Wood turtles generally become more solitary and terrestrial during the summer months, usually remaining within a small home range of 1 to 5 hectares (2.5 to 12.4 acres). As fall approaches, they typically spend more time in or near the water. Most will enter hibernation by mid-October.

Several factors have contributed to the decline of the wood turtle in Michigan. These include (but are not limited to) habitat fragmentation and surface water pollution. The construction of roads near rivers and streams has led to significant mortality from automobiles. While beneficial for other wildlife, land management activities such as stream bank stabilization and in-stream sand traps can greatly reduce available nesting sites and eliminate preferred habitat. Conversely, activities that open dense, unbroken floodplain forest can potentially create new habitat for the wood turtle.

Wood turtle populations are characterized by high nest mortality, delayed sexual maturity, and prolonged adult life. Wildlife populations possessing these characteristics typically depend on very high annual survivorship of adults and an exceptionally high survival rate of immature animals in order to maintain a stable or growing population. Any factor that persistently increases mortality beyond normally low levels will eventually lead to a population decline and possible local extinction. The threats discussed here coupled with high demand in the pet trade spell an uncertain future for the wood turtle in Michigan.

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) is a species of special concern in Michigan and is a candidate for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1972. This species has declined throughout its historical range from western New York and southern Ontario, to Iowa and southward to Missouri. Massasaugas are now more common in Michigan than any other state.

During the spring, massasaugas can be found primarily in shallow wetlands or shrub swamps. In summer, they move to drier upland areas seeking spots to "sun", such as open fields, grassy meadows, and farming sites.

Researchers are currently using radio telemetry to study this species. This involves the surgical implantation of tiny radio transmitters to track movement of individual snakes.

As children we learned about wildlife's fall migration. Simple enough. Animals move from north to south to avoid the cold winter weather. Right? The truth is that many types of migration occur for various reasons.

Salmon migrate large distances from the ocean to their birth stream in order to breed. Other species of fish in streams and rivers often have migrations from summer sites to breeding areas up or down stream.

During fall, automobile drivers often are stopped by mass migrations of frogs moving from their summer habitat to area ponds where they burrow into the mud to spend the winter. These mass frog migrations usually occur on the last few warm rainy nights in September or October. Salamanders can be found migrating to vernal ponds in the spring to breed.

In Michigan, whitetail deer in the Upper Peninsula migrate to winter deer yards. A majority of this migration is from the Lake Superior watershed to yards in the southern part of the peninsula, but migrations can also be east, west or north. It all depends on where the deer yard is in relation to their summer range.

Several species of bats in Michigan spend the winter in a dormant state (they do not hibernate) in large colonies. Abandoned copper and iron ore mines in the Upper Peninsula provide the right temperature and moisture to survive. There are no similar sites in the Lower Peninsula. Many biologists speculate that these abandoned mines may draw bats from all over Michigan. This means that bats from the southern peninsula may move north to find suitable hibernacula.

Finally, where do all the organisms living in the soil go? It would be a long dig for a mole to migrate south. Many of the insects and some mammals go dormant in the layer of frozen soil. Others such as earthworms and moles move down below the frost line and continue digging throughout the winter.

Whatever type of migration it is and whatever direction animals are moving, migrations provide easy viewing opportunities to see large numbers of animals.

RAISING AWARENESS: Understanding Invasives

OSPREYS USE RELOCATED NEST
The Spring 2003 Spotting Scope newsletter included a story about an osprey nest in Mecosta County that was relocated by Wolverine Power. We're happy to report that the ospreys returned to the nest this spring and produced offspring.

BLACK NECKED STILTS NEST IN MICHIGAN
Two pairs of black necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) nested this spring at the Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in Monroe County. Normally occurring throughout the southern and western U.S., this is the first recorded nesting activity for this species in Michigan. Both pairs produced chicks.

ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO MICHIGAN OSPREYS
The Osprey Watch of SE Michigan (or OWSEM) was established in 2003. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to monitoring ospreys and collecting data on banded ospreys that come back to southeast Michigan to nest and raise their young. Visit their web site at www.owsem.org