In My Backyard
How to practice responsible Land Management no matter the characteristics of your property.
By Nick Machinski
Part 8: Plant and Animal Inventory
The container garden is going well and I’ve managed to harvest quite a bit of items for salads. I’m just waiting for my tomatoes and peppers to start ripening now. It isn’t the largest garden, but it has been a nice supplement to what we normally get. Goal 1 is a success.
But this month it is about Goal 2: Inventory of Plants and Animals. We’ve been in Chelsea for almost a year now and it takes that long to really get a feel for any new space. To experience a space in different seasons means one will observe different things at different times. Certain plants bloom in the fall, not the spring. Animals are more abundant for a few weeks in the spring and are gone by summer.
So after nearly a year of observing and making mental notes, I thought it was time to get it all down on paper…or Excel. I’m a big fan of Excel. It is easy to use and to create an inventory for a variety of things. I recommend using Excel for your property or a similar program.
An inventory can be as simple as just writing down what you’ve observed. And notice I said, “observed.” You may hear a coyote on your property or find rabbit scat but never see either creature. However, you know it is present. I’ve decided to take my inventory to the next level a bit. I’ve added a few categories that you can see below. And the categories may work for one inventory but not another. Plants are stationary and easy to count, birds are not. Of course, if I had a forest, I wouldn’t count every single Red Maple unless that was important to me and my goals for the property.
The container garden is going well and I’ve managed to harvest quite a bit of items for salads. I’m just waiting for my tomatoes and peppers to start ripening now. It isn’t the largest garden, but it has been a nice supplement to what we normally get. Goal 1 is a success.
But this month it is about Goal 2: Inventory of Plants and Animals. We’ve been in Chelsea for almost a year now and it takes that long to really get a feel for any new space. To experience a space in different seasons means one will observe different things at different times. Certain plants bloom in the fall, not the spring. Animals are more abundant for a few weeks in the spring and are gone by summer.
So after nearly a year of observing and making mental notes, I thought it was time to get it all down on paper…or Excel. I’m a big fan of Excel. It is easy to use and to create an inventory for a variety of things. I recommend using Excel for your property or a similar program.
An inventory can be as simple as just writing down what you’ve observed. And notice I said, “observed.” You may hear a coyote on your property or find rabbit scat but never see either creature. However, you know it is present. I’ve decided to take my inventory to the next level a bit. I’ve added a few categories that you can see below. And the categories may work for one inventory but not another. Plants are stationary and easy to count, birds are not. Of course, if I had a forest, I wouldn’t count every single Red Maple unless that was important to me and my goals for the property.
Example Plant Inventory
Species |
Quantity |
Location |
Notes |
Cherry Tree |
1 |
East side of yard |
Early bloomer. Attracts a lot of pollinators. Attracts a lot of birds when fruit is ready. |
Birch |
1 |
West side of yard |
On slope; pain to mow around. |
Red Bud |
1 |
West side of house near front |
Beautiful tree. Attracts a lot of pollinators. |
Example Animal Inventory
Species |
Observation |
Notes |
Common Grackle |
Flying through and perching on trees |
Nest near top of eastern Arborvitae in Spring 2020 |
House Finches |
Flying through and perching on trees |
Nest in hanging basket on front porch; 4 babies; 7/20 |
As you can see, I’ve added some notes to the different species if there was something interesting or something important that might aid me in my management/planning down the road (i.e. when certain trees bloom or when orioles appear). I also added a “Links” category to be populated later. I hope to insert links to different web articles or resources that might expand my knowledge on a certain plant or animal and assist in my management for that particular species.
It can be difficult to start an inventory, especially if you have a lot of wildlife on your property or your land is particularly large. Just start with what you’ve observed most recently. Don’t worry about capturing everything, you won’t, at least not initially. Unsure of a certain plant or animal, I suggest the iNaturalist app. It is a app for you phone that you can upload pictures to and a community of scientists and backyard naturalists can identify certain species. It is very handy and I use if I’m unsure of a certain plant or animal I come across in the field.
If you ever have questions or are interested in getting a Land Management Plan written for MAEAP please contact me at nicholas.machinski@macd.org
It can be difficult to start an inventory, especially if you have a lot of wildlife on your property or your land is particularly large. Just start with what you’ve observed most recently. Don’t worry about capturing everything, you won’t, at least not initially. Unsure of a certain plant or animal, I suggest the iNaturalist app. It is a app for you phone that you can upload pictures to and a community of scientists and backyard naturalists can identify certain species. It is very handy and I use if I’m unsure of a certain plant or animal I come across in the field.
If you ever have questions or are interested in getting a Land Management Plan written for MAEAP please contact me at nicholas.machinski@macd.org
