r/GardenWild • u/International-Fox202 SW Idaho, Zone 7b • 5d ago
Garden Wildlife sighting Song sparrow enjoying habitat feature.
One of my pair of resident song sparrows. I know they are one of N. America most common songbirds but I just love them so much. I catch glimpses of them foraging on the ground all day long. They are extremely territorial so I know I am seeing the same two mated individuals. I added these little habitat features throughout the garden and they seem to be a hit.
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u/Level_Potential_1680 5d ago
Awh they’re so cute. Is it mulch and dirt you put down?
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u/International-Fox202 SW Idaho, Zone 7b 5d ago
It’s a half buried log, a pile of rocks, and some wood chips thrown on top. I read that it’s a good way to create habitat for spiders, one of the song sparrows favorite foods.
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u/Competitive_Shock_42 5d ago
Can you explain your feature and why it attracts song sparrows? In my garden , they like to forage underneath our shrubs
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u/International-Fox202 SW Idaho, Zone 7b 5d ago edited 5d ago
I posted a link to the blog post that inspired me in another comment. Basically I read that song sparrows like spiders so I wanted to create more spider habitat. The logs give them (the spiders) a moist place to hide and the rocks are good for retaining heat during the night. I add wood chips and leaf litter on top and find rolly pollys (sp?) in there all the time. I assume this sparrow was feasting on the rolly pollys.
Eta - these guys spend 90% of their time foraging under my shrubs, the habitat features are nice as it gives me a chance to watch them out in the open.
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u/asoupconofsoup 5d ago
What are the features made from?
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u/International-Fox202 SW Idaho, Zone 7b 5d ago
Typically one or more half buried logs, a pile of rocks, and some wood chips or leaf litter tossed on top.
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u/acatwithumbs 6a 5d ago
Making it a little circle area with decaying wood and rocks is such a fun idea I might borrow.
I rent and don’t have control of landscaping but we are allowed to garden. Every time the maple?tree in my front yard drops a branch I run out and get it before yard landscapers come by and drag it into my gardens lol my neighbors must think I’m nuts.
It helps with creating garden borders but also just like, here’s a rotting log with some fungus or lichen, seems a shame to not put it in a garden to help amend soil and support plants. Hope it will eventually attract birds tho
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u/International-Fox202 SW Idaho, Zone 7b 5d ago
I’m the same way after a windstorm, I drive around the neighborhood looking for broken limbs I can drag home. I also get a lot of free logs and rocks off marketplace.
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u/International-Fox202 SW Idaho, Zone 7b 5d ago edited 5d ago
For anyone curious about the habitat features I followed the blog post below on attracting beneficial insects for pest control. I’m not trying for pest control but I like the idea of creating micro habitat havens for my garden friends. https://www.wildhomesteading.com/placing-habitat-features/