Getting to Know Wildlife

This is a big topic, but wildlife is everywhere and it’s easy to get started and to deepen your knowledge and experience. Here are a few resources we recommend. Maybe you have others to suggest? Let us know.

This article by ecologist Julian Avery of Pennsylvania State University may inspire you.

A quick read

Keeping tabs on neighborhood wildlife may hook you on all the action

“Watching wildlife outside your window can boost your mental well-being, and it’s something lots of people have been doing a lot more of lately.

Maybe you’ve been wondering if you’re seeing one persistent gray squirrel or a rotating cast of furry characters. Maybe you’ve been thinking about which birds are passing through for the season and which are townies who stick around all year.

As a wildlife ecologist, I’ve learned to pay attention to patterns that show me what the animals outside my window are up to, and I usually know which individuals are my regulars.

Whether you’re spying on animals in a city, town or rural area, with a little background knowledge, you too can keep tabs on the private lives of your neighborhood critters.” Read more.

Want something in depth?

Check out Mary Holland’s extraordinary book Naturally Curious Day by Day. “It is a photographic field guide and daily visit to the forests, fields, and wetlands of eastern North America.”

What can you do in your own backyard?

Why not adapt your yard’s landscaping so that it becomes more of a wildlife habitat?

Douglas Tallamy’s books tells you how. Nature’s Best Hope is an inspiring AND practical guide to responding to the disturbing decline in species. It’s a new way of understanding conservation.

“Nature’s Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. Because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is immune from the whims of government policy. You will walk away with specific suggestions you can incorporate in your own yard.”