Winter 2025

Creating a Winter Habitat for Wildlife by Providing Food and Shelter

by Robin Mitchell

Winter in Contra Costa County tends to be mild, but it is still important to think about supporting wildlife in our urban and suburban gardens during this season. The term “wildlife” can have different meanings, in the context of this article however, it refers to birds, bees, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, insects, but not necessarily mammals, especially those that are considered pests. Mammals, such as squirrels, mice, rats, deer, and raccoons, thrive in our urban environments because their populations aren’t naturally controlled by their predators. Creating a habitat for that wildlife is generally not advisable as it can disrupt our gardens and communities.

With that context in mind, the primary habitat needs for winter wildlife are shelter and food. While many articles about wildlife habitat also mention water as a key element, providing water for wildlife can be problematic since it needs to be cleaned and refilled often to prevent the spread of disease. Additionally, because winter is our rainy season, water should be generally available for wildlife, unless there is a drought.

Both food and shelter are best provided through native plants, which the native wildlife have evolved with and are adapted to.

Shelter
Many insects are dormant during our winter. For example, many native bees spend the winter sheltering underground, or in dead plant material, (such as leaf-cutter bees.) https://ucanr.edu/sites/ccpestmanagement/files/237336.pdf. This is why it’s important to leave some ground bare for ground-nesting bees.

For birds, it is important to have shrubs and trees which provide shelter from both weather and predators. Evergreen, dense shrubs and trees will provide the best protection.

Food
You can provide food for wildlife with native plants, which naturally produce nectar, pollen, seeds, and fruit, rather than relying on artificial feeding stations to provide that service.

Most native plants provide food for birds, depending on their diet. Letting plants go to seed in the fall will provide food for seed-loving birds into the winter. Leaving leaves on the ground (see the article “Messy is Good for the Planet” in this newsletter), which provide habitat for various stages of insects, will be consumed by insect-eating birds. And berry-producing plants will provide food for many different birds.

The western population of the Monarch butterfly spend their winters on the California coast, and their needs during that time are not milkweed, because that is food for their caterpillars, and the butterflies should be in reproductive diapause (i.e., not producing caterpillars) when overwintering. What they need most is nectar from plants that bloom in the winter.

Native plants that provide shelter and food

Many plants native to Contra Costa County offer both food and shelter for wildlife in the winter. As discussed in the article Winter Blooms for Garden Pollinators, several shrubs and small trees can provide both shelter and food.

These include:

• Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita): Their winter blossoms provide nectar for Monarch butterflies, native bumble bees, and hummingbirds; their berries are food for birds; their dense foliage provides shelter for birds.
• California Lilac (Ceanothus): winter and early spring blossoms provide pollen and nectar for bees and other insects; their berry-like fruits provide food for birds; their dense foliage provides shelter
• Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia): Their bright red fruits mature in fall and winter and provide food for many bird species
• Silktassel (Garrya elliptica): Coast silktassel flowers in winter and early spring, providing pollen and nectar for native bees and butterflies; later the small berry-like fruits provide food for birds and other wildlife

You can use Calscape, the web-based native plant database developed by the California Native Plant Society, to filter for plants that bloom in the winter, are wildlife-friendly, and are local to a specific area.

Resources

Winter Blooms for Garden Pollinators
https://ccmg.ucanr.edu/News_to_Grow_By/?story=2705

Plant Native Shrubs Now for Winter and Spring Bloom
https://ccmg.ucanr.edu/News_to_Grow_By/?story=2664

Winter Gardens for the Birds
https://ccmg.ucanr.edu/News_to_Grow_By/?story=2663

Creating a Wildlife Habitat
https://ccmg.ucanr.edu/News_to_Grow_By/?story=2461

California Native Bees
https://files.constantcontact.com/c2115e3d101/cf28e3ea-97b4-4111-af36-12a27317389d.pdf

Gardening for Butterflies
https://files.constantcontact.com/c2115e3d101/b67fe1b6-e9ce-428f-8602-a37a20b37052.pdf