Image: Public Domain

As fall approaches, consider ways to encourage wildlife through late summer and fall.

1. Leave Seeds

Don't trim all of your fading flowers, seed pods, old berries, or ornamental grass seeds in your small outdoor space. As food sources and cover, flowers and grasses can continue to attract wild birds well through the winter.

2. Provide Roosts

Providing roosts as shelter from winter elements helps bird survive, and helps you to keep them close.

3. Plan for Winter Water

Water sources to attract wildlife tend to freeze in winter. How good is your current solution? You can always deice and refill your birdbath or other water source, but better ways exist, including self-thawing birdbaths, heating the water with a separate deicer, or moving the water with a bubbler or rippler.

4. Shop for High-Energy Wildlife Food

Certain foods have higher energy values than others. For instance, black oil sunflower seed provides more energy to birds than other kinds of seed, even other kinds of sunflower seed.

Suet is perhaps the most energy-giving bird and critter food (variety packs are available).

5. Clear Birdhouses and Roosts

Some people like to clean out birdhouses and roosts in early spring, but cleaning yours out in the late summer has a couple of benefits. One, it's usually warmer, drier weather. Two, the sooner the old remains of nests are removed, the better in terms of parasites, etc.