From an airplane, the Richmond area appears to be heavily forested, a lush haven for wildlife. Not so, said Thomas L. Smith, director of the Virginia Natural Heritage Program, which works to protect rare species. But our landscape is broken up by roads and subdivisions and businesses, and that destroys the forest's usefulness for these animals. Also, many birds require brushy undergrowth to nest and hide in. But when you get off that plane and look at the forest from the ground, Smith said, you often find not undergrowth but manicured yards that make poor habitats.
Deer eat backyard plantings.
Raccoons, opossums, squirrels, crows and blue jays thrive on people's backyard trash and bird food. But these animals, their numbers artificially high, drive out others. Deer, by eating low-lying shrubs, destroy the underbrush many songbirds need. Raccoons, opossums, squirrels, crows, blue jays and cats eat songbirds, bird eggs, frogs, reptiles, turtle eggs and small mammals. Many suburbanites see deer and raccoons and opossums and think they are living in a thriving wildlife habitat.