There's No Place Like Home

Native plants can help feed the local wildlife, but offering them a drink and a place to rest can make sure they stick around!

The National Audobon Society has a section titled Audubon at Home that has a lot of information of what you can do to make your yard more wildlife friendly, including worksheets!

Watering Hole:

Ponds: One stop shopping: drinking, bathing and a hang-out for the frogs.
Commercially available ponds don't provide the right environment for your backyard friends, and pond fish will eat frog eggs. Frogs need a pond that has sloped or shallowly stepped sides so they can get in and out. A branch or log part in and part out of the pond can also help. Butterflies drink the moisture off of wet rocks, but will drown in very little water. Providing a shallow end of the pond, with some stones to make different depths can give birds a place to take a bath as well.

Birdbath: Not enough room for a pond? A backyard birdbath with some stones placed in it can provide a place for the birds and butterflies to take a drink and bathe. Be sure to keep it clean (rinse thoroughly to avoid leaving any cleanser residue behind) and filled with fresh water. If you have cats or other predators that frequent your yard, consider a hanging birdbath, or somehow protecting it from them.

Houses:

Birds and other wildlife need shelter as well as food and water. Houses for birds and bats, and sheltered places for frogs and snakes will make them feel more comfortable in your yard, and encourage them to stay and feast on your pesky bugs.

Trees, especially evergreens, can provide shelter as well as food. There are also plans available to build your own houses, or you can buy one at places like The Backyard Bird Shop or the Audubon's Nature Store.

Frogs and snakes like to hide in the crevices of unmortared stone walls, and there are commercially available "toad houses" as well.