Helping out with nature?

Question

I really love nature, and being surrounded by it, helping out with the birds to the ants. Now its winter though, and I feel so like restless. Is there anything I could do to help out animals? I started reading nature books, and everything is for spring and summer! I live in zone 6-7 in Long Island. Some info on my yard: I have a small pond, 100-250 gallons, Most of my yard is brick, I have a vegatable garden, my backyard is like this: Pond with rocks around it, pebbles, brick patio, and a little garden, about 10'x 30'. Any suggestions on helping the birdies, or frogs, or bugs, or hedge hogs, or any other wildlife near me at this time of year?

Answer 1

Putting out bird feeders would be a good place to start. Especially when it snows, their food is all under snow cover and they need help. You can get a good book on feeding the birds (and identifying them, that is half the fun) at any book store. Make sure the birds and animals have a water source that is not frozen, tho I suspect they drink out of your pond. Toads, frogs, etc. hibernate in the fall, and I wish we had hedge hogs, I think they are so cute, but I don't think they are native here. You might see rabbits out when it snows, but they manage to find their own food, and as for those squirrel bandits, well, they will manage on their own as well as emptying your bird feeder, but you can feed them (and the jays and woodpeckers) peanuts and other nuts, if you like. Aslo earsofcorn, there are some cute squirrel feeders. Put up suet feeders for the woodpeckers. Remember to scatter some bird seed on the ground for the ground feeding birds like doves. You can get a bird feeder that is squirrel proof, it has a spring that closes the feeder when anything heavy like a squirrel gets on it and they can't get at the bird seed. Don't clean up your garden too well, leave seed heads esp. of echinacea and black-eyed susans for the finches, and clover for the rabbits. As for the deer, well, if you have them, don't encourage them or you will never have a vegetable garden again, same for ground hogs. If there is a conservation area near you, go visit it regularly. Have fun!

Answer 2

Not much goes on in winter. I leave my bird houses out in winter because the winter birds(mostly juncos, nuthatches and siskins) need shelter from weather. You might consider both a compost and a separate brush pile where critters can find shelter during storms. Start observing what you have this time of the year and experiment on what they might need. Food and shelter is needed all year but don't keep anyone that should migrate. I take my hummingbird feeders down in November and put them back up in February, otherwise they will stay all winter and could freeze if it gets too cold.

Answer 3

you could put a small pump/bubbler in your pond to keep the water open so that that animals can still have access to water in the winter.