If You Plant It, They Will Come...

Here on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, in this post Hurricane Katrina world, we are seeing the rapid destruction of our wild and beautiful land. Natural habitats are being bulldozed to make way for development as people who once lived in the New Orleans area rush across the Causeway in search of home sites. It is more important now, than ever before, that we dedicate part of our space to the wild creatures that have been displaced by human development and natural disasters. By following a few simple guidelines we can all help restore lost habitat so that we can coexist with and marvel at our wild animal neighbors.

Eastern Screech Owl

Habitats should maintain a balance of nature.  The never ending cycle of producer, predator and prey keeps this balance.  In our habitat, all native species:  insect, arachnids, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals are allowed to live as they would in the wild.  By providing "wild" areas for the animals we are able to keep the "management" of our habitat to a minimum.

How We Manage Our Habitat:

• Maintain a Nest Box Trail to provide nesting sites for birds that nest in Cavities & we put baffles below nest boxes to deter snakes, racoons and cats.
• Fence our vegetable garden with rabbit wire so that we can get some beans and peas for our kitchen.
• Avoid using pesticides and weed killers and use plants that are pest deterrents or that attract natural predators like parasitic wasps and ladybugs.
• Use a lot of native species and heirloom plants that are acclimated to our climate making them healthier so they thrive with little care.
•  Encourage natural predators like dragonflies, birds, bats and snakes, too.  Birds and dragonflies are great insect eaters and bats can consume 1000's of mosquitoes each night.

We enjoy all of the wild things in our habitat, whether they be furred, feathered or finned. As Cecil Frances Alexander wrote, "All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all." Because we try to work with the natural balance of nature, our habit has good biodiversity. Below are photographs of some of the wild creatures that inhabit our 9 acres. Click on the photos for a larger picture or for more information about the creatures in our habitat.

Visit our New Squidoo pages about the flora and fauna in our habitat.
Naturally Native
Preserving Louisiana Flora and Fauna
Nature Postage Celebrates Animals

Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds nest in our habitat.	A Gray Tree Frog uses a Bluebird nest box as a home.	A Monarch Butterfly on Mist Flower (Eupatorium collestinum)
A Brown-headed Nuthatch enjoys a sunflower seed at the feeder.	Kingsnakes eat many rodents and also poisonous snakes.	Dragonflies eat mosquitoes and other flying insect pests.
A sphinx moth caterpillar on a Ludwigia.	Golden Orb spider	Al's pet bass, until the Great Blue Heron speared it.
Several Wood Duck families live in our habitat.	Green Slider Turtle laying eggs	Gulf Fritillary Butterfly on Elephant's Foot Flower
Red-headed Woodpecker uses the log feeder (compliments of Hurricane Katrina).	Male Carolina Wren enjoys the home made suet. (note the white wing & tail feathers)	Female Summer Tanager is one of the many visitors to the bird bath. A mister keeps the water fresh. Click the photo for more.
Male Prothonotary Warbler brings moss into a bluebird size nestbox.	Clearwing Hummingbird Moth on Pickerel Weed	Yellow Jackets are native pollinators.
Night Visitors
A Red Fox visits the sunflower seed feeder.	A Bobcat sniffs the mineral block that we placed by the river.	White-tailed Deer visit the corn feeding area by night.
Many Raccoons raise their young around the river. This mother is teaching her young the places to visit on their nightly rounds.	Southern Flying Squirrels nest in some of the boxes on our trail.	This young bat will soon eat 1000's of mosquitoes each night.
3 Beaver and 6 racoons eat peacefully.	3 Coyotes on the prowl by the river.	Cottontail Rabbits are prey for hawks, owls and foxes.

Back to the Top