For stewards of Maryland's backyard wildlife

Vol. 9 No. 1, Summer 2003

HABITAT - the arrangement of food, water, cover, and space - IS THE KEY!  This newsletter is a place to share ideas, information,  and help answer some of your habitat and wildlife gardening concerns. We want to hear from you!  Letters, e-mail, photos, drawings. Let us know how successful you are as you create wildlife habitat on your property. 

Native Plant Profile....... Persimmon  (Diospyros virginiana)

The persimmon tree grows to 50 – 60 feet with a 2 foot diameter. It is a tree which is considered a slow grower which grows best in moist, rich soils. A native to the eastern U.S., it found in fields and woodlands.

Flowers:  The flowers are small, usually less than ½ inch and are found in the axils of the leaves. Flowers can be found in small clusters or as a single bloom. They are greenish-yellow in color, blooming in May and June.

Fruits: The persimmon is best known for its fruit. This fruit is orange to almost reddish purple and is about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Four to six large flat seeds are found inside the flesh of each fruit. The fruits are astringent when unripe but are very sweet and edible when ripe. 

Landscape Notes:  A tree to consider using as a specimen plant for its unique looking leaves, bark and fruit.

Wildlife Value:  The fruit of the persimmon tree is eaten by nearly all birds and mammals found in Maryland. Fruit hangs on the trees throughout much of the winter serving as an important food source for wintering birds. Wintering birds that eat the fruit include the mockingbird, robin, cedar waxwing and the wild turkey. Mammals are also quite fond of the fruit, especially the opossum, which lends the name “possumwood” to the tree. Raccoons and foxes find the fruit an essential food source in the late winter. Cavity dwelling mammals such as squirrels and opossums use the trees as shelter.

Additional Notes:  Other members of the ebony family are commonly found in Asia. The tree bark is gray to black in color, broken up in distinctive small blocks. The leaves are alternate, smooth and oblong with a somewhat metallic luster.

Illustration of Persimmon 
Courtesy of Criselle Anderson

The Pond 
by Linda Barker

When I moved into my old 1895 house in June of 1991, I knew I wanted to build a pond, but since there were so many other things to attend to, I did not start to dig until late September of 1992. Construction was accomplished in a day, on one of those brilliant autumn days when the air was clean, and smelled of leaves, and the sky was silver-blue, and puffs of clouds occasionally hid the sun. In other words, it was a nice cool day for a sweaty job.

Lawns and Wildlife?  What Can You Do

Lawns offer little food, or cover to the majority of wildlife. Any opportunity to replace lawns with mulched areas, flowers, meadows, trees and shrubs are a definite plus for wildlife. If you are interested in providing habitat for wildlife see if you can reduce the size of your lawn to no more than 40% to 50% of your outside area. 

Use a variety of grasses that requires the least amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides for your area. Maryland Cooperative Extension offers home and garden information, tips publications, plant problems, Bay issues, and other links at www.agnr.umd.edu/MCE/index.cfm  Their Home and Garden Information number is statewide and can be reached at 1-800-342-2507, and from outside Maryland at 1-410-531-1757. 

Most lawns are over-watered. If you must water, do it early in the morning when evaporation is minimal and it will benefit the grass the most. Find out from the nursery or extension office how much water is recommended for your grass variety. 

If possible use a mulching mower to prevent having to collect and throw away grass clippings. Set the mower at the higher cutting lengths. Taller grass is better able to shade the soil and crowns, reducing water loss and encouraging deeper rooting. Longer grass will be stronger grass, because more leaf surface is available to produce carbohydrates for food. The Home and Garden Center can also provide that information for your grass variety.

Break up the lawn with island plantings of trees with shrubs and ground covers. Remember very few birds are attracted to just a mowed lawn but will use these island plantings.

If you still want a manicured lawn, try to edge it with shrubs that can provide leaf litter where birds such as towhees can scratch the area for food. Whenever possible replace that lawn grass with native grasses and wildflowers. They are more drought tolerant and bring the birds and butterflies to your backyard.

Home and Garden Information Center

- Photograph Courtesy of Pete Jayne

Keep Those Bird Feeders Clean!

Feeding birds is an enjoyable hobby shared by many wild acres members. If you are going to feed, you must take precautions to prevent diseases that commonly affect those bird species that use feeders. Follow these basic steps to prevent or lessen disease problems at your feeders.

• Keep the feeder area free of droppings and waste like shells.

• Avoid crowding by making sure there is plenty of feeder space. Crowding produces stress, which can make birds more prone to disease.

• Keep feeders clean. Try using one part of liquid chlorine household bleach in nine parts of warm water. This serves as a suitable disinfectant. Immerse empty feeders for about three minutes in the disinfectant. Try to do this cleaning at least once a month or more often as needed.

• Use good food. Never use food that looks moldy, has fungus growing on it, is wet or smells musty.

• Be proactive! Don’t wait until you see sick or dead birds. By following the preventive tips, you should rarely find sick or dead birds at your feeders.

Note: If you have concerns over sick or dead birds at your feeders, please contact your local Maryland Wildlife & Heritage office that serves your area. 

Soil Fertility

Every wild acres gardener wants their soil to be able to produce suitable plants to attract wildlife and look healthy. Fertile soil certainly is an important component in this. Have your soil tested to determine the amount of fertilizer and lime needed. Follow the recommendations on the amounts to apply. Contact the Maryland Cooperative Extension Office in your county for soil testing information.

Keep paved areas to a minimum in the wild acres site. If you are going to have a patio or walk in the area, consider using gravel, wood chips, stepping stones and bricks on sand without mortar. All these reduce run-off and allows fertilizer to go into the soil for those wonderful plants you have established for wildlife.

Here is a listing of phone numbers, web sites and organizations that you might find helpful or interesting in your search for ideas to manage your wild acres. DNR Online... Inspired by nature! www.dnr.state.md.us. 

National Wildlife Federation - Details on their backyard habitat program www.nwf.org or call them at 1-800-822-9919.

Native plants - The Maryland Native Plant Society offers information dedicated to protecting, conserving and restoring Maryland's native plants and habitats, visit them at www.mdflora.org. 

Maryland Cooperative Extension offers home and garden information, tips publications, plant problems, Bay issues, and other links at www.agnr.umd.edu/MCE/index.cfm  Their Home and Garden Information number is statewide and can be reached at 1-800-342-2507, and from outside Maryland at 1-410-531-1757. 

Maryland's "Becoming an Outdoors - Woman Program "- One of the topics covered in the three-day workshops is Backyard Wildlife.

For more information on butterflies - visit the North American Butterfly Association at www.naba.org

Warm season grasses and wild meadows for upland nesting birds visit Pheasants Forever at www.pheasantsforever.org or e-mail: pf@pheasantsforever.org

Habichat, the newsletter for Wild Acres participants, is published by the Wildlife and Heritage Service, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The facilities and services of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are available to all without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability. This document is available in alternative format upon request from a qualified individual with a disability.

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