Wildlife and subdivisions

I checked on the neighborhood without wildlife this afternoon. The gray skies don't do very much for the neighborhood, which is a typical small subdivision, with neat, well-kept houses.

As I thought, it IS a relatively new development, carved out within older areas of a small historic town nearby, a summer retreat in the 1800's for wealthy planters from the Lowcountry of South Carolina, before becoming a district center for the surrounding area.

There are large oaks and young beeches near the entrance, but otherwise, it's new surburban landscape style, with small lots, manicured lawns, and the same three or four trees and shrubs used over and over.

And the rest of the story is evident from the satellite view; the large area cleared for the subdivision doesn't have enough habitat diversity to support much wildlife activity.


It's a perfect candidate for a community backyard wildlife habitat makeover, to be sure, since the neighborhood is surrounded by older areas with tall native trees and more diverse habitats!