Ready to Create a Brush Shelter for Backyard Wildlife?

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on creating brush shelters for backyard wildlife, emphasizing the importance of location, structure, and materials. Key recommendations include placing shelters at ecotones, ensuring sunlight exposure, and incorporating stone piles and native plants to attract various species. Participants also discuss the necessity of checking local regulations regarding brush shelters and share humorous anecdotes about their experiences. The National Wildlife Federation and Tracker Trail provide valuable resources for further information on building effective brush shelters.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of ecotones and their role in wildlife habitats
  • Knowledge of local regulations regarding backyard structures
  • Familiarity with native plant species for wildlife attraction
  • Basic construction skills for building brush shelters
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the National Wildlife Federation's guidelines on brush shelters
  • Learn about native plant species suitable for attracting backyard wildlife
  • Explore construction techniques for effective wildlife habitats
  • Investigate local zoning laws and homeowner association rules regarding brush shelters
USEFUL FOR

Gardeners, wildlife enthusiasts, environmental educators, and anyone interested in creating sustainable habitats for backyard wildlife will benefit from this discussion.

zoobyshoe
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No one's in a better position to do this right now than Evo, but anyone with somewhat of a yard might be able to atract some critters:

Brush Pile - Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program - National Wildlife Federation
Address:http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/logpile.cfm

TIPS FOR CREATING BRUSH SHELTERS
Some communities do not allow brush shelters, and some neighbors might not undertand their value. Check you local codes and notify your neighbors if the brush pile will be highly visible.
Place your shelter on the edge between two habitats - these "ecotones" house the most wildlife.
Make sure at least half of your shelter receives direct sunlight - many animals love to bask.
Use stone piles in your shelter as part of the base to create hiding places and along the edges to serve as basking sites.
Plant native flowering/fruiting vines to sprawl over the shelter to attract hummingbirds and songbirds.
Weave evergreen branches into the roof of your shelter in the Winter to provide cover from snow/ice storms.
Add old pipes to your shelter's base to serve as tunnels for rodents, reptiles and amphibians.
 
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Hey, look - it's Zooby's house!
http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/images/14082brushpile.jpg
 
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But that's NOT my dog!
 
Why build a brush shelter?

Why not just keep them in the broom cupboard like everyone else?
 
That's my dog.

I sent him to the brush shelter to get me a water color brush.
 
Huckleberry said:
That's my dog.
Why won't he leave? I keep telling him "Make your own brush shelter!"
 
I'm going to go collect sticks for this. maybe I can catch a PF member lurking around. Oh, crap, we have the homeowner's association in our neighborhood, I'm not sure if they allow it. I'll have to check, but then again...

Why bother? :devil:
 
zoobyshoe said:
Why won't he leave? I keep telling him "Make your own brush shelter!"
It's just that I've never seen any zoobies using the shelter so I assumed it was abandoned. Didn't want all those brushes to get all crusty.
 
I'm sure you all can observe my shelter's simple, elegant lines and its structural grace. It was designed by Brush Architect, Frank Lloyd Zoobie - a classic!



This site has tons of brush shelter pictures:

Tracker Trail - Brush Shelters
Address:http://www.trackertrail.com/survival/shelter/brush/abbbrush.html
 
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  • #10
brewnog said:
Why build a brush shelter?

Why not just keep them in the broom cupboard like everyone else?

I can supply lots of brushes! I work for a brush manufacturer
:cool:
 
  • #11
Kerrie said:
I can supply lots of brushes! I work for a brush manufacturer
:cool:
I, and the rest of the zoobies, are becoming very tired of that joke.
 
  • #12
Kerrie said:
I can supply lots of brushes! I work for a brush manufacturer
:cool:
So can I send you the 60 pounds of cat hair that Lucy sheds every month?
 
  • #13
I'm doing my part by donating my fence as a termite habitat. :approve:
 
  • #14
the next story will demonstrate my extreme hick-ism:
One weekend (cold and rainy) i determined that i was going to 'rough it', so i did. i rounded up my millitary surplus gear and a couple MREs (Meal- Ready to -eat(millitary ration)) and headed off into the woods. that was friday night, i built a shelter, boiled some H20, built a fire, and slept there that night and saturday night, and left for home sunday morning. it was a peaceful and quite cool experience (except for the freak mountain storm on saturday) and i had a fun time. next time, i will bring a zippo, lighting fires by sparking flint and steel is a *****.

Fibonacci
 
  • #15
Actually, that sounds like a very cool camping experience. Next time don't just bring a zippo, bring some real food. Gots the makings of a great time if you know how to build a brush shelter. (Don't need to lug a tent.)
 
  • #16
zoobyshoe said:
Actually, that sounds like a very cool camping experience. Next time don't just bring a zippo, bring some real food. Gots the makings of a great time if you know how to build a brush shelter. (Don't need to lug a tent.)

actually, the MREs i had were quite swell, some random italian food with chicken, and if you get the heaters that have an extothermic reaction when you mix them with water they are hot too! the old MREs are sucky, and you have to know which ones are good. italian stuff is usually good.

Fibonacci
 
  • #17
You didn't build a fire?
 
  • #18
i did, as i said in my first post.
 
  • #19
1 said:
i did, as i said in my first post.
You did say that, yes. What was the function of the exothermic heater thingies?
 
  • #20
zoobyshoe said:
You did say that, yes. What was the function of the exothermic heater thingies?
Man build fire. Man no cook. *grunt grunt* :biggrin: :smile:
 
  • #21
zoobyshoe said:
I, and the rest of the zoobies, are becoming very tired of that joke.


:confused: it's no joke, I seriously work for a company called American Brush Company.
 
  • #22
Kerrie said:
:confused: it's no joke, I seriously work for a company called American Brush Company.
And do they sell instructions on how to make shelters from their products?
 
  • #23
zoobyshoe said:
And do they sell instructions on how to make shelters from their products?
Oh, I thought you were making shelters for their products. :-p With all that hair, I thought you'd need a lot of brushes, and might need a special shelter just for them. :biggrin:
 
  • #24
zoobyshoe said:
You did say that, yes. What was the function of the exothermic heater thingies?

they heat the MREs, and give off hydrogen, which i like to capture in a bag and explode.
yes, i am a pyro, too.

Fibonacci
 
  • #25
1 said:
they heat the MREs, and give off hydrogen, which i like to capture in a bag and explode.
yes, i am a pyro, too.
It's loud and firey. It burns clean, and leaves nothing behind but pure H2O. I'm not seeing a problem.
 
  • #26
zoobyshoe said:
I, and the rest of the zoobies, are becoming very tired of that joke.

The rest? so you're in the zooby club now? How do I join?
 
  • #27
Zantra said:
The rest? so you're in the zooby club now? How do I join?
There is no "zooby" club. There is a race of beings called "zoobies". I am a "zoobie", but my name is "Zooby". I am Zooby the zoobie. Zoobies live in brush shelters. If you want to make a brush shelter and live in it, you will not become a zoobie, merely zoobie-like.
 
  • #28
zoobyshoe said:
There is no "zooby" club. There is a race of beings called "zoobies". I am a "zoobie", but my name is "Zooby". I am Zooby the zoobie. Zoobies live in brush shelters. If you want to make a brush shelter and live in it, you will not become a zoobie, merely zoobie-like.

I will meditate on this. Perhaps after years of meditating inside of a brush shelter I may one day become one with the brush shelter and transcend to zoobie status...
 
  • #29
Zoobyshoe

Has his own universe