3 Backyards

[Regino Meriweather]

AfterWorld War II, people began moving out of congested cities and into newly built suburban developments that included private backyard spaces. The adoption of the 40-hour workweek, a shift from blue-collar jobs to white-collar jobs and an increase in disposable income meant people had both time and money to embark on some do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. The result: Uniform backyards were transformed into personalized havens devoted, in part, to rest and recreation.

Wartime manufacturers of materials like aluminum and concrete pivoted production for the consumer market following the war, with new products catering to a suburban lifestyle. Everything from aluminum grill spatulas and tongs, patio furniture, and colorful and tough outdoor fabrics became readily available to the average consumer. [The iconic shape of the Weber charcoal grill is based on the design of marine buoys.] During World War II, restrictions on chlorine and concrete once meant private in-ground pools were only accessible to the ultra-rich. Afterwards, in-ground pools became affordable thanks to the sudden surplus and availability of these materials.

Advertising and popular culture began depicting modern outdoor living spaces filled with turf, patios, grills and even swimming pools. Lifestyle magazines touted an idealized suburban world that revolved around outdoor entertaining. Pepsi introduced its Patio Cola, a precursor to Diet Pepsi.

Suburban tract housing and large-scale developments began popping up in the open spaces outside cities, characterized by a change in the style of houses being built. Modern ranch houses were going up quickly and inexpensively everywhere. Front porches and stoops were stripped from the designs, fundamentally changing the focus of community interaction. Socializing migrated from the front of the house around to the backyard. Add the ubiquitous fence and more private, invitation-only socializing became the popular norm.

Researchers tracked bird abundance and diversity in parks and backyards in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana in summer and winter. They found that parks and backyards play complementary roles in supporting bird health and abundance. The researchers also tracked how park maintenance and preservation practices related to bird diversity.

Birds most commonly seen in backyards in Urbana and Champaign included, clockwise from top left, northern cardinals, chipping sparrows, house finches, red-bellied woodpeckers and American goldfinches.

Summer birds seen in Urbana but not Champaign included, clockwise from top left, ring-necked pheasants, common nighthawks, scarlet tanagers, yellow-bellied flycatchers, yellow-billed cuckoos and rose-breasted grosbeaks.

The study reveals that efforts to support wild birds with feeders, bird baths and native vegetation can have a meaningful effect on bird diversity, said U. of I. natural resources and environmental sciences professor and study co-lead Carena Van Riper, left. Graduate research assistant Devin Goodson is a co-author.

Three independent expert observers visited each of the 80 sites multiple times in summer and winter to conduct visual and auditory surveys, recording each bird species observed. The team also collected physical, climate and ecological data from each site.

As expected, Urbana had more vegetation, and the green spaces were cooler in summer than those of Champaign. Urbana parks and backyards also supported more bird diversity. Of the 15 bird species seen only in Urbana in summer, the team recorded the belted kingfisher, scarlet tanager, Kentucky warbler, blackpoll warbler, pileated woodpecker and yellow-billed cuckoo. In winter, Urbana green spaces hosted 12 species not seen in Champaign, including the winter wren, yellow-bellied sapsucker, sharp-shinned hawk, hermit thrush, swamp sparrow and yellow-rumped warbler.

In general, public spaces like parks and preserved prairies hosted a higher diversity of birds in the summer and supported more ecologically rare species. Backyard spaces also played an important role in summer, hosting a subset of the bird species found in parks. In winter, backyards supported distinct bird communities with levels of diversity similar to those of public parks.

Funding for this project was provided by the U. of I. College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Future Interdisciplinary Research Explorations grant program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch grant program.

In Florida, urban areas are a dominant feature in the landscape, and many of these urban areas are situated near natural wildlife preserves. What people do in their own yards and neighborhoods affects local and nearby wildlife populations. Steps can be taken to create and save wildlife habitat in urban areas, minimizing our adverse impact on local wildlife. Plus, creating wildlife habitat provides wildlife viewing opportunities for people in cities.

Wildlife are affected by how homeowners manage their yards and neighborhoods at both local and regional scales (Figure 1). For example, maintaining a habitat for wildlife in a yard increases biodiversity in the neighborhood. (Biodiversity is simply the number of different species occurring in a given area.) On a larger scale, how one manages yards and neighborhoods can have a positive effect on surrounding habitat. For example, a neighborhood may separate natural areas. These natural areas can be connected if residents provide a corridor of natural vegetation through the neighborhood. Residents can plant natural vegetation in their individual yards so it is near or connected to vegetation in the next yard, and so on. This creates a corridor that animals can use to travel from one natural area to another, thus benefiting wildlife at a larger scale.

However, neighborhoods can have a negative impact on both local and nearby wildlife habitat. People may plant invasive, exotic plants that invade nearby natural areas (for example, Chinese Tallow). The growth of these plants in natural areas destroys wildlife habitat. Also, pets may run loose in neighborhoods and nearby areas. Pets can disrupt wildlife populations through hunting and harassment of animals. What people do within their own yards does affect nearby wildlife populations.

Collectively and as individuals, homeowners can do many different things to provide wildlife habitat. Essentially, wildlife habitat consists of food, cover, water, and space. However, providing habitat is not enough. One must manage the yard or neighborhood so that impacts are minimal. The suggestions below will guide homeowners to manage and design their yards and neighborhoods for wildlife.

Lawn is like concrete to most species of animals. It offers very little food or cover. In general, we recommend reducing the amount of mowed lawn around your house, especially in areas of low traffic such as corners of the yard (Figure 2). By simply not mowing, you will be creating shelter and food for many animal species. Over time, unmowed areas contain more plant species than mowed areas. This plant diversity attracts more wildlife species. For example, birds are attracted to areas that are structurally diverse. These areas provide shelter in which to hide from predators or build nests. Further, the diversity of plants provides more feeding opportunities. More fruits and seeds can occur in these unmowed areas. Most importantly, diverse areas attract more insects and most birds eat insects.

Why does mowing favor grass? Mowing favors grass because it is adapted to being cut down. When you leave an area unmowed, other plants will gradually replace the grass. These plants may sprout from seeds already in the soil. Also, seeds could come from the surrounding area. Wind and water can bring a wide variety of seeds to a given place. As an area becomes more diverse, animals will visit the area and bring in more seeds. Seeds are stuck to their bodies or are found in their droppings. To help speed up the replacement of lawn, you can remove the grass and plant seeds of NATIVE wildflowers that are adapted to the conditions in that part of your yard (sunny, shady, wet, dry, etc.).

Add Islands of Vegetation: Islands of landscaped vegetation are also very helpful to wildlife. These can be planted with native ground cover, wildflowers, or other vegetation. If possible, locate the islands so they are near each other. Islands can also be located near unmowed areas of the yard (Figure 4). Overall, the nearer they are to each other, the more likely an animal will cross from one island to the next. A group of islands reduces the amount of open space animals have to cross. Animals that cross open areas are at greater risk of being prey for other species. Animals are more likely to use an island if it is located near another. Small, ground-dwelling wildlife species benefit greatly from islands of vegetation. Grouping islands of vegetation benefits even birds. Birds like to be near shelter while foraging for food.

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