Q.Protecting wildlife while gardening..
I stumbled upon a bunny nest while digging a new garden today. I haulted my work and secured the den to let them thrive until they leave. But now I’m paranoid about doing any garden work. How can I ensure I don’t disrupt another nest, or harm any other creature that may be living underground??? I look for nests before working today and I completely missed it! Now I’m worried about things that might live even deeper than the surface level. Please help!
Your compassion for living things is admirable. But sometimes in order to carry out human activities like gardening, there will be conflicts for habitat with the local critters.
You can only do the best you can do at proceeding carefully and consciously and warning animals that you are coming, with stomping and poking around the bushes to alert the residents.
If you are in an area of wildland and residential interface, you may want to seek out a course or consultation with a local wildlife expert to advise you on what critters to look for, their nesting and life cycle characteristics. A local community college environmental studies dept and/or state wildlife protection services may be a place to start.