Brush Piles Are Awesome!
I am very fortunate to live in the woods! Here is my newest brush pile, which includes lots of small branches and saplings that have fallen in windstorms, or just because they didn't receive enough natural light. The leaves are mostly oak--they are the last to come down in the autumn.
Here's another brush pile that I started in August. You can see that a small animal has already made its way into the complex network of branches and leaves. Inside a brush pile animals and birds can find all sorts of small invertebrates, larvae, rootlets, seeds, moss and all kinds of marvelous food!
I have seen juncos enter and exit from this brush pile. They spend a lot of time around these areas, foraging for insects and getting away from snow and windstorms. They also sleep in these piles at night! I know they use them for nesting places as well, because I have seen fledgling birds perching just outside this entrance hole.
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Male Junco perching on a branch near one of the brush piles.Small animals like chipmunks love to hide their food in these piles. They also create warm nests in the spring and fall, but come winter weather, they head underground by burrowing beneath the brush pile.
You have to clean up your yard anyway, right? So why not make a beneficial habitat to attract more birds, just as Mother Nature does. Even if you don't have a large yard, maybe you have a garage or shed near which you can start to build your brush pile. Just make sure you aren't offending your neighbors, or upsetting your local code enforcer!
Have Fun!
Grandma Pearl
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