For wild animals, home is where the habitat is. It can be fun, interesting and educational to share your space with wildlife. Anyone can make their back yard, whether a small apartment balcony, a subdivision lot, or rural acreage, attractive to wildlife. By considering the basic life requirements of different species, discover what animals can and cannot be enticed to your area, as well as those that you shouldn’t invite close.
Learn about using natural plantings, feeders and nesting structures to attract songbirds, hummingbirds, butterflies and mammals. And, since things can sometimes happen as a result of your efforts that you may not anticipate or appreciate, find out also how to deal with some of the associated problems.
Donna Schwab of Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife shares her expertise at Cedar Bog on Saturday, May 13, at 10 a.m. as part of our Second Saturday programs offered each month.
Schwab is a career wildlife biologist with the ODNR, Division of Wildlife and oversees public land habitat management in Central Ohio, conducts wildlife surveys and monitors populations of birds of prey including bald eagles and peregrine falcons. For several years she hosted the “Backyards for Wildlife” feature on the Wild Ohio TV show. Donna enjoys the outdoors in many ways including gardening for wildlife in her own back yard.
Admission is $10 per person and $5 for Ohio History Connection and Cedar Bog Association members for the talk on May 13.
For insect enthusiasts
If you enjoy the sights and sounds of nature at night, Cedar Bog has several events lined up for the insect enthusiasts from May through August.
Entomologist Jim Lemon will be leading our “Moth Nights” at Cedar Bog on the following Friday night dates at dusk: May 12, June 9, July 7 and Aug. 11. In the event that a Friday evening is stormy, we will move the Moth Night to the following evening. Admission is free to attend these Moth Nights at Cedar Bog, which will be held at the Education Center or the Bog House at Cedar Bog. Bring a flashlight, your camera, insect repellant or insect-shield clothing and meet us at dusk at Cedar Bog. UV lights will be used, so if you have UV glasses, bring them along, too.
The Cedar Bog Nature Preserve is at 980 Woodburn Road, located four miles south of Urbana, off South U.S. Route 68. For more information on events at Cedar Bog, please call 937-484-3744 or email [email protected] or visit our website at www.cedarbognp.org.
