by
Gail Leis
From
heavily populated areas to the wide open plains, native Missouri wildlife is
being challenged to adapt to habitat loss, dwindling food and shelter
availability and an ever expanding human presence.
As
naturalists, one of the ways we can support our wild animal companions and lead
through our example is by creating backyard, garden or community habitats.
Whether
your home is on sprawling acres or a small urban space, there are four basic
needs essential to wildlife year round: food, water, cover, and places to raise
their young.
If
you already have all four of these, you can register your property through the
National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. (For an extra 35
bucks, you can also get a metal certification sign—a good way to create
interest with neighbors and friends. Certify online at http://www.nwf.org/backyard.)
In
my yard, I have a huge evergreen, mature trees, a feeder that’s stocked (and
emptied) daily, and fruit-bearing shrubs. Three down. What was I missing? Water.
Water! I don’t know where I thought animals found it, especially after years
of drought. But I didn’t even think about it consciously until I met so many
birders through the Missouri Master Naturalist program.
Before
I knew it, I was on a mission. With the mercury heading south and flurries in
the forecast, I felt an urgent inner nudge to find a heated birdbath for all the
cardinals, jays, juncos and mourning doves who dine out regularly at my house
with nothing to wash it down.
A
few days later, a big box from Amazon showed up on my doorstep. I knew it would
be fun to watch the birds splash around this spring, and gratifying to see them
stop by for a cold one at the end of the day.
What
took me by surprise, though was the quite gratitude they showed. Often I’ll
see a bird perched on the resin edge of the bath, his eyelids heavy in the sun,
feathers puffed against the bitter cold, completely content at the water’s
edge. Maybe it’s the temperature of the bowl. Maybe it’s the soft steam
rising from the water.
Or
maybe, he knows. He knows that it was put there out of love. That while my mind
may not fully know how to fix the increasing problems he and other wildlife
face, that my heart has compassion for the hard life they live right in front of
my eyes. Eyes that took such a basic need for granted. But with each day, each
course, each new insight from a fellow MMN friend, continue to open.
***