A Woodpile for Winter
Helping out our wildlife over the cooler season with a wildlife logpile
We’ve had the fire going more frequently lately, and popping on a few more layers of clothing in the morning. The temperatures are definitely dropping, which means winter is on the way.
The wildlife has noticed, too. We’re seeing fewer butterflies around, the dragonfly season is over, and the sparrows and finches are barely to be seen.
What we’re seeing more of, though, are our natives: pīwakawaka (fantail), riroriro (grey warbler), tauhou (silvereye), kererū (NZ pigeon), tūī, and korimako (NZ bellbird). It seems that the cooler seasons are our homegrown species’ time to shine.
For several years I lived not far from the Waitākere Ranges and would go hiking a lot. I loved the ngāhere (forest) but I also loved watching and listening to the birds - so when we got our own garden, I was determined to do our bit for ngā manu (the birds).
I knew that they liked kōwhai and harakeke, and generally that native trees were good for them. I found a chart on the Department of Conservation website that showed the diet of some native birds. Many like a combination of fruit and nectar, which I knew from seeing tūī and kererū. Interestingly, almost all of them have insects in their diet (the only exception is the kererū).
Fruit and nectar means trees (and preferably native trees because that’s what ngā manu evolved alongside). The problem is that trees take a long time to mature - and many of us don’t have room to put them in, anyway! At our house, we’re fortunate to have some in the garden already (their favourites here are kōwhai, tī kōuka/cabbage tree, and beech). While we are planting more native trees, we needed something else to keep the birds going while the trees grow.
I knew we had to attract more insects. We already had a fair bit of leaf litter around, so what else could we do? It was then I came across the idea of wildlife log piles.
I started collecting bits of wood from under our trees to make into log piles and dotted them around the garden. As my friend recently described, our garden has a ‘wild look’ so I’m cool with having them as a feature of their own. If you prefer a tidy garden, you can easily tuck a stack of sticks under a tree or shrub, or even in a formal flower bed.
It is what it says on the packet: a pile of logs. It can be neatly stacked or all higgledy-piggledy - it’s totally up to you. Placing them somewhere in the shade means they’ll attract bugs and beetles more quickly, and maybe moss, lichen, and fungi as well. Placing them facing the sun means butterflies and other insects might bask on them, especially in the evenings. We’ve currently got a trapdoor spider living under one of ours, and some patterned tree fungi on another. The butterflies love our stack of firewood!
I am always curious to see what turns up when we make space for wildlife. I’d love to hear how it goes if you set up a log pile, or any other tips for helping our wildlife through winter.
You might also like…
How to support native birds in your backyard, a podcast episode by RN
Tidy by Emily Gravett, a lovely picture book about “the perils of being too tidy”
Backyard Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function, a video by entomologist Brian Cutting
Great idea. I have a massive wood pile - branches that need to be cut for the fire. I’m not sure if the birds are making use of it but the insects are definitely there.