TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 CREATING A WILDLIFE FRIENDLY YARD ......................................................................2 With Plant Variety Comes Wildlife Diversity...............................................................2 Existing Yards....................................................................................................2 Native Plants ......................................................................................................3 Why Choose Organic Fertilizers?......................................................................3 Butterfly Gardens...............................................................................................3 Fall Flower Garden Maintenance.......................................................................3 Water Availability..............................................................................................4 Bird Feeders...................................................................................................................4 Provide Grit to Assist with Digestion ................................................................5 Unwelcome Visitors at Your Feeders? ..............................................................5 Attracting Hummingbirds ..................................................................................5 Cleaning Bird Feeders........................................................................................6 Bird Houses....................................................................................................................6 Cleaning Bird Houses ........................................................................................7 Purchasing Bird Supplies...............................................................................................7 Preventing Window Collisions ......................................................................................7 Pet Harassment to Wildlife ............................................................................................7 CERTIFIED WILDLIFE HABITAT.........................................................................................8 Nuisance Wildlife ..........................................................................................................9 Pet Food and Garbage........................................................................................9 Ponds..................................................................................................................9 Woodpeckers and flickers..................................................................................9 Swallows............................................................................................................9 Insects ..............................................................................................................10 Mule Deer ........................................................................................................10 Gophers............................................................................................................10 Rabbits .............................................................................................................10 Rattlesnakes .....................................................................................................10 Invasive and Exotic Wildlife Species ..........................................................................11 European Starlings and House Sparrows.........................................................11 Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) ..........................................................................11 Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) ...............................................................12 MANAGING WEEDS.............................................................................................................13 DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECT WILDLIFE AT AVIMOR ....................................................15 Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum)....................................15 Avimor – A Homeowner's Guide to Living with Wildlife Page i of iii Western Toad (Bufo boreas)............................................................................16 Pacific Treefrog (Hyla regilla) ........................................................................16 Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis).............................................17 Racer (Coluber constrictor).............................................................................18 Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) ...............................................................18 Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) .............................................................19 California Quail (Callipepla californica) ........................................................19 Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus)...........................................................20 Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) ............................................................20 Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) ................................................................21 Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) ......................................................21 Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii)..................................................................22 American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)............................................................22 Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans).................................................22 Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) .......................................................23 Blacktail Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) ........................................................23 Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) ..............................................24 Coyote (Canis latrans).....................................................................................24 Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) ..................................................................................25 Mountain Lion (Felis concolor).......................................................................26 Raccoon (Procyon lotor)..................................................................................26 Badger (Taxidea taxus)....................................................................................27 Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)...................................................................27 Short-tailed Weasel (Mustela erminea) ...........................................................28 Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) ..................................................................28 Elk (Cervus elaphus)........................................................................................29 DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECT PLANT SPECIES .................................................................30 Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ..............................................................30 Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) ......................................................................30 Golden Currant (Ribes aureum).......................................................................31 Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii).............................................................31 Syringa (Philadelphus lewisii).........................................................................32 Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata).............................................33 Bachelor Buttons (Centaurea cyanus).............................................................33 Annual Sunflower (Helianthus annuas) ..........................................................33 Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) ..........................................................34 Hoary Cress (Cardaria draba).........................................................................35 Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium)...................................................35 Phlox (Phlox spp.)............................................................................................36 Avimor – A Homeowner's Guide to Living with Wildlife Page ii of iii Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum)............................................................36 Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola)...................................................................36 Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris)....................................................................37 Pursh’s Milkvetch (Astragalus purshii)...........................................................38 Rush Skeletonweed (Chondrilla juncea).........................................................38 Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregate) ................................................................38 Sego Lily (Calochortus nutallii)......................................................................39 Silvery Lupine (Lupinus argenteus) ................................................................39 Slickspot Peppergrass (Lepidium papilliferum)...............................................40 Tapertip Onion (Allium acuminatum)..............................................................40 Tumblemustard (Sysimbrium altissimum) .......................................................41 Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) .........................................................................41 Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata).........................................42