In a world of doom and gloom it is heartening to be able to take practical steps to help redress the balance and provide a space for wildlife to thrive.

I knew from the title that this was an American book but the basics apply just as much to gardening in the UK as it does to America, just use a bit of common sense.

The photos are lovely, enough to make you want to get out there and start gardening immediately.

A very detailed and easy to follow guideline, Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife, is a great addition to any gardener's collection.

Mizejewski shares his expertise in creating a habitat that will attract local wildlife. This is exactly what I want to do in my backyard right now and the author broke it down in simple chapters that almost scaffold (Sorry, teacher writing the review!) what you need to learn. My biggest takeaway: there is so much to consider! I thought it was just type of plant but I loved the chapters on "Cover" and "Places to Raise Young."

Very informative! I learned a lot about nature and wildlife, and I plan to apply some of the lessons to my own yard. I’d love to see some more butterflies and humming birds this spring and summer.

This book is wonderful! It has helped me (and will continue to help me) to build a diverse garden and yard teaming with plants and habitat to encourage wildlife and insects to make their home near me. My garden is turning into a sanctuary. It is Winter now, but many of my plants will return in the Spring. This book is complete with full color, beautiful photos of plants and wildlife.

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in gardening or wildlife
With beautiful photographs throughout, the wonderful resource shows how to entice birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
I was surprised by the information about the damage cats make to the wildlife habitat.

A great guide for both beginners or professionals.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own

My yard is certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat, so I am familiar with the concept and was very interested in this updated publication. It's a great, must-have resource for anyone who has a garden. It's very difficult for such a book to be useful and yet specific to one's own growing region. So that must be considered when reviewing this book. It's intended to be a general reference and frequently encourages the reader to consult local sources for more specific information for their area. That's good. Its main purpose is to educate people in general about gardening for wildlife, providing the habitat that helps them to thrive. And, it mightily fulfills this goal. Easy to read with lots of highlight boxes and great illustrations. In particular, I like the different approaches described for creating a wildlife habitat. They take into consideration multiple concerns (e.g., aesthetics to neighborhood, budget, time) and allow the reader to select a method that best suits their needs. Overall, this book is a great resource for one to become familiar with this concept and it helps the novice to realize it's very do-able regardless of one's experience level. A must-have for all gardeners!

This is a wonderful, easy to follow resource guide for backyard gardeners or professional landscapers to make gardens more enticing to birds, butterflies, pollinators and other wildlife. The photography is beautiful and every page was enjoyable. This guide covers many subjects such as native plants, invasive plants, how to bring in pollinators, watering and many others. It even covers how the neighborhood cat is hurting your garden and how to keep it out! I will continue to use this as a guide to build my gardens for many years to come. I am very grateful to Netgalley and the publishers to have the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I highly recommend this book!

My initial impression was that this book is a great overview of the many different aspects of creating a backyard wildlife habitat. It covers every possible subject - how to get started, food, water, cover, raising young, and sustainability. Because it covers so many subjects and because it is designed for a national audience, it does not provide advice on any particular area/region of the country.

I would have rated it 3-4 stars initially. The photos are fabulous and the content is concise and helpful. However, one key point pushes it to 5 stars for me: how to be recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. I think this is a key selling point missed by the publisher in its promotion of the book. This certification section comes at the end of the book. It provides a list of the benefits of the recognition as well as a checklist to ensure that you have all the qualifying aspects needed for your yard to qualify. It also provides the website to complete the application process. Plus - There’s a fancy little sign you can order and place in your yard so that human visitors to your yard will know of your commitment to sustaining a wildlife habitat.

I’m excited to to pursue this further! You’ll find me blogging about my yard, it’s features and - hopefully - my certification at www.Patch405.com.

I was offered an advance digital copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

5 stars! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I’m so glad I came across this book when I did! Although this book discusses native species in Northern America the premise can be applied anywhere. I live in Tasmania Australia and found most information was useful and applicable. Mizejewski explains things very clearly without over burdening the reader with unnecessary facts. I particularly loved that instructions on how to construct or complete projects included photos and diagrams. The photos in this book are beautiful and relevant to the topic being discussed. This has been written for the purpose that anyone can read and apply it, whether you are in the city, the suburbs or the country.
Before reading this my husband and I had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to plant, none of which were native. After reading this and watching native birds around our property we have completely changed our mind and will be planting natives.
Many thanks NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital edition in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE this book! I am SO happy I came across this book. Not only are the pictures amazing, but so is the advice and information. The author wrote this book in a way that the reader not only gains great information, but also gets the reader prepared and ready to apply all that they have learned throughout their read There are questions at the beginning of the book for the reader to analyze how much they have to do, and how much more there is to get done before getting the end result the reader is looking for. There is so much great information found in the book including the importance of plants for wild life and all ecological systems; the variety of plants to use (with their scientific names); it has information on native plants and plants that are good to have around for the environment, as well as the animals it would benefit; the author also applies a list of things the reader will need to get started and to continue enjoying their "backyard wildlife" for as long as they want. Thank you so much to Fox Chapel Publishing, Netgalley and David Mizejewski for the ARC.

What a gorgeous book! Almost every page has photos worth framing - though you might not want the creepy crawlies on your wall. The birds, butterflies, flowers and attractive habitats and homes would make almost any gardener keen to try the suggestions.
The setting is North America but the principles are general; identify your habitat types, plant native plants, add flowers for pollinators, maybe a water feature for added wildlife diversity, put up bird, bat, bee and other homes. And compost! Don't use pesticides if possible, let natural pest predators do the work.
We are shown checklists, how to build various features, what some plants look like in winter and summer. Along with an explanation of invasive non-native plants, we are told that a weed is only a weed if you don't want it; otherwise it is a wildflower, like the milkweed which feeds monarch butterflies. The text is not overly complex and has straightforward information, with an index at the back.
Go for it, create your nature garden. Happy watching the wildlife!

I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

This book was so filled with information that I had to take notes, and I know I'll need to look through it in the future to double check those notes. The layout overall is easy to follow, and there are definitely useful bullet point lists if you are trying to get specific information quickly (which plants are native plants, which plants are not only non-native but also invasive, etc). I also really enjoyed the section that had recipes/guides on how to make your own bird feeders using things like peanut butter, nuts and seeds, pine cones, etc. There are also great "family project" ideas, such as building a bat box, and wildlife profiles, so you can see the positives (and negatives) of either attracting certain animals/birds to your yard or the importance of keeping them out (a detailed page on keeping your cats out of your yard if you are trying to attract wildlife, or the pros and cons of snakes, for example.)

This is a great resource for what the average person can do to transform their yard and garden into a habitat that is welcoming to all the creatures that live with us. I learned a great deal about plants and flowers that I can add to my backyard to encourage birds, small animals, insects, and butterflies to visit and flourish within my own small part of this world. As a parent that has a young son that is fascinated and passionate about nature and birds, this is an invaluable resource.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Creative Homeowner for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased review and opinion.

This is a wonderful reference book for increasing the numbers of birds in your backyard. It is divided into chapters with different options depending on your lifestyle and footage. A great read for anyone who enjoys watching through the window at the activities outside. Good chapter on what plants attract which animals and the illustrations are beautiful. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm not ready to add a pond to my backyard, but I have incorporated more native plants and we've had many more birds and butterfly visitors as a result. I'm still hoping to have monarch caterpillars, which didn't happen this year, but hopefully will next year!

As I decide what to plant in my gardens, I work in plants that will bring the birds and butterflies to my yard. David Mizejewski has written a very good book with easy to follow guidelines and suggestions no matter which planting zone you live in. His book has added another layer of knowledge to my planting skills.

This is a great book for birders and wildlife lovers. I enjoyed the pictures and tips on how to attract birds and butterflies. Though I have been working toward attracting local wildlife for several years, it does not hurt to refresh.

This book is useful for those people who wish to attract birds and other wildlife into their backyard. It also tells how to obtain certification of being a wildlife area.

Fantastic guide to attracting wildlife to your property!  Tons of information and tons of photographs - a perfect combination!