A Homeowners Guide to Living with Wildlife River Heights Community July 2011 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 ..............................................................................................3 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 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 DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECT WILDLIFE AT RIVER HEIGHTS ......................................15 Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) ....................................15 Western Toad (Bufo boreas) ............................................................................16 Pacific Treefrog (Hyla regilla) ........................................................................16 River Heights – A Homeowner's Guide to Living with Wildlife Page i of iii 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) ...................................................................28 Short-tailed Weasel (Mustela erminea) ...........................................................28 Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) ..................................................................28 Elk (Cervus elaphus)........................................................................................29 DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECT PLANT SPECIES .................................................................31 Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ..............................................................31 Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) ......................................................................31 Golden Currant (Ribes aureum) .......................................................................32 Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii).............................................................32 Syringa (Philadelphus lewisii) .........................................................................33 Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) .............................................34 Bachelor Buttons (Centaurea cyanus) .............................................................34 Annual Sunflower (Helianthus annuas) ..........................................................34 Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) ..........................................................35 Hoary Cress (Cardaria draba) .........................................................................36 Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) ...................................................36 Phlox (Phlox spp.) ............................................................................................37 Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) ............................................................37 Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) ...................................................................37 River Heights – A Homeowner's Guide to Living with Wildlife Page ii of iii Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) ....................................................................38 Pursh’s Milkvetch (Astragalus purshii) ...........................................................39 Rush Skeletonweed (Chondrilla juncea) .........................................................39 Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregate) ................................................................39 Sego Lily (Calochortus nutallii) ......................................................................40 Silvery Lupine (Lupinus argenteus) ................................................................40 Slickspot Peppergrass (Lepidium papilliferum) ...............................................41 Tapertip Onion (Allium acuminatum) ..............................................................41 Tumblemustard (Sysimbrium altissimum) .......................................................42 Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) .........................................................................42 Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) .........................................43 Bottlebrush Squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix) .......................................................43