Background
Wildlife will appreciate brush and rock piles - handy hiding places (near a feeder, for example) where small birds and mammals can flee for cover - just about anywhere. Reptiles and mammals may even make nests or dens in these hideouts.
Procedure
• Brush piles: Start with a foundation of rocks or logs to hold your brush pile together. Build the sides so the arrangement is thick in the middle and loosely structured towards the outside. Use debris, such as clippings from pruned trees and branches blown down in storms. A heavy log or two on top will prevent the wind from blowing your brush pile to pieces.
• Rock piles: Simply a mound of rocks and stones of different shapes and sizes, a rock pile is arranged in a way that creates openings for shelter and nesting sites. Pieces of chimney tile or lengths of pipe at the base create handy tunnels. Add some flat rocks on top; sunbathing reptiles and amphibians will make good use of a rock pile at a pond's edge.
Maintenance
Check the site regularly to see if new brush or rocks need to be added to the pile.