Urban Wildlife... Alive and Well in Salem

One thing you hear a lot of people bemoaning is how our urban, industrialized world is "killing the planet." That our cities and town are destroying wildlife or driving it from our midst. I live in a urban community, just a 10 minute walk from downtown Salem. We are one of the few houses in our tightly packed neighborhood to have a small yard. How small? Well, it only take about 20 minutes to trim and mow the grass and that includes pulling everything out and cleaning up afterwards. But you know what? I see more wildlife running around in my backyard on a daily basis than I ever saw when growing up in the country.

As I sit here on my back porch writing this there is a pair of juvenile squirrels running amok in the yard playing tag, chasing birds, and occasionally stopping to much on the scattered bread balls I tossed out in the yard for them. We have a swing in the yard with a canopy on top that the squirrels have decided to use as a trampoline and they like to sun themselves in the winter along the porch rails. And to save my garden we have a couple of squirrel feeders out in the hopes that they will eat those and not dig up my tulip bulbs. Speaking of my garden, every summer it's a debate whether all of the color is from the flowers or all the butterflies.

And birds! Oh, my, are there birds! People walking past the house often stop to watch those little feathered puffs of energy as the bicker and squabble for their turn at the feeders or all dive in the "pool" of the mushroom shaped birdbath we have placed along the fence. We have at least 5 different species of sparrows, 3 different kinds of woodpeckers, grackles, starlings, finches, blue jays, cardinals, and some I haven't been able to get a good enough look at to identify. Downtown to help "combat" the ever present pigeon population we now have several mated pairs of hawks and falcons. We even have a "Merlin" hawk that likes to hang out in the various trees that in our neighborhood. Then there are groundhogs, chipmunks, raccoons and the occasional skunk or two.

Some of people have commented that our backyard has become something of an urban wildlife refuge!

And that was kind of what we had in mind. People who live in a urban environment have a lot of options for helping wildlife thrive. We have two bird feeders, one for loose seed and one for suet. The loose seed feeder is one of those "squirrel proof" feeders that closes when one of those little furry thieves climbs on it. It works well enough that they don't even try to raid it anymore. In the suet feeder we use a "hot pepper" brand of suet. Squirrels don't like the pepper, but the birds love it. It dangles from a tree branch at the end of the driveway over the street where no one parks, so they get a snack and we don't have to worry about them leaving "presents" all over the Explorer.

Around the bottom of the back porch, we use lattice to keep out large burrowing critters (I don't need them digging holes along my foundation!) but the openings are large enough for the small birds who stay here all winter to be able to get in find shelter from the winter snows and cold winds that blow in from the Atlantic every year. One house around the corner from us has literally dozens of little bird houses and feeders of their own to help them manage through the winter months.

There are all sorts of things people who live in urban areas can do to help out the local wildlife, even if they don't have a yard of their own. If you live near a local park, adopt a spot and set up a suet feeder (it a lot less messy than loose seed and less likely to attract a gaggle of pigeons who do well enough on their own!). Check with the park service and see if it's okay to nail up a bird house or even a nesting box or two for the squirrels. Do you like to garden, but don't have a yard? Try container gardening or window boxes or hanging planters.

The thing is to use your imagination. Instead of bemoaning the lack of wild spaces or wildlife in your urban environment find creative ways to encourage nature and support those urban critters who have adapted to living in the big city. You might be surprised at what you can come up with!