Nov 23 2009
Attracting Wildlife
Many a morning in the growing-light, or evening during the dimming of sky, I’ll spy a leopard frog on a lily pad in our goldfish pond. Build it an they will come.
This morning I re-realized that I have been feeding the hawks in the area. Indirectly. Just after dawn today one made off with a mourning dove that had been scavenging on the ground beneath our feeders. The hawks (red-shouldered variety) also dine on the squirrels that invariably find a way to steal seeds.
Hmm. Should I not feed the wildlife? My guess is that the loss due to predation is offset by the gain of better-fed stocks. But maybe not.
Certainly, I make sure to situate the feeders where predation is more difficult. There is some overhead cover and nearby brush for the feeding birds to make a hasty retreat into.
Would that red-shouldered hawk have snagged a mourning dove searching for a meal in a more wide-open area, had it not discovered one relatively hidden in the trees adjacent to my home? I wonder.
Food and shelter. You need both to attract wildlife. Perhaps the same is true for humans.
