|
|
Urban Wildlife
|
| Native wildlife suffer from Seattle urbanization just like many
plants do. A good way to get a feel for the difference a metropolis makes is
to visit a comparatively rural or country site and compare its animal
activity with that of the big city. The birds, insects, snakes, frogs and deer can
be striking to city eyes and ears. Every time a raven croaks, or a frog
chorus bursts forth in evening song, or the air vibrates busily with
dragonflies, hummingbirds and bees --it can elicit mixed surprise, appreciation
and longing. |
| Actually, to judge by checklists alone, Seattle has a rich
wildlife population. The catch is, many animals of lesser tolerance to humans
have been replaced by those which thrive in our company --or at any
case don't particularly hate us. Think of pigeons, starlings, raccoons,
crows, slugs, rats, and gray squirrels. These critters elbow aside the
more fastidious natives the same way dandelions and Scotch broom do
with plant life. |
| If you are observant and know where to look, you may see in
Seattle such species as bald eagles, coyotes, salamanders, treefrogs, lizards
and snakes. Check out the nightlife and note bats dining on mosquitoes,
and 'possums skulking about like fat little ghosts. It can be thrilling to
watch a hawk or falcon circling high in the sky, then dive-bombing to score
a robin or rat for lunch. Both children and adults get round-eyed at
finding owl pellets in the woods. |
| People's growing interest in attracting and helping urban
wildlife benefits all kinds of animals and the ecology at large. Done carefully,
such animal-aid includes flowers for beneficial insects, bird baths,
berry bushes and sheltered perching or nesting sites, wild fringes and
corridors for traveling. With time and proper techniques you can transform
an ordinary yard, dominated by lawn, into a teeming little garden of
Eden. Examples of such work abound in Seattle. More and more yards
sprout signs saying they're designated backyard wildlife sanctuaries. |
It is an extreme cost of time and money to all at once rip out your
lawn and Forsythia bushes to plant a balanced community of plants to
help wild animals. But to do the work gradually, learning as you go,
allowing yourself time to change your mind, is simple enough. Do what
comes easily first, and don't, for example, try to make a wetland if you live
on a dry bluff. Hang a hummingbird feeder, or plant a butterfly
bush (Buddleja). Add a bird bath. Plant a redflower currant bush
(Ribes sanguineum): its flowers are lovely, attractive to hummingbirds, and
its powder-blue berries are edible to birds or whoever else desires them.
If you don't like one kind of wildlife, attract other kinds. Butterfly
gardens are always a joyful riot visually, and your neighbors can hardly object.
If enough of us value such things as howling coyotes, and put our
values into action, we can make Seattle a wilder place.
|
(originally published in The Seattle Weekly, July 1996)
Back |
|
|
