Attracting Backyard Wildlife: A Guide for Nature Lovers

Creating a backyard garden that will attract and sustain agreeable wildlife becomes a delightful task with this informative guide by Canadian naturalist Merilees. Songbird enthusiasts will learn how to construct singing stations and grouse dust baths; urbanites are told how to convert balconies into more modest habitats. For the adventurous, Merilees recommends methods to lure insects and spiders (``least understood, most overlooked . . . yet among the most fascinating''), butterflies (enchanted by sun, fragrant flowers and watery ``seeps''), small mammals and shy yet beneficial reptiles and amphibians (garter snakes). He frankly acknowledges the potential problems (and offers workable solutions) of attracting such a gamut of visitors--property damage, disease transmission, disturbance of the natural balance--but argues convincingly that nurturing wildlife rewards the effort of planting native species or building bumblebee nest boxes. Though neither exhaustive nor without bias--opossum, deer and wild geese are mysteriously neglected, and the domestic cat is maligned--this guide is richly imaginative. Photos not seen by PW. (June)