Creatures of habitat
All that lovely wildlife that helps your plants to flourish needs your support now winter is on its way. From toads in holes to bug hotels, try these warming tips
Now we’ve had the first dustings of frost, we’re preparing for the colder weather. A new winter coat, turning up the central heating, digging out gloves and scarves – then we’re ready for winter.
Outside, your local garden wildlife is doing the same, adjusting its routines to survive the cold.
But looking for somewhere to hibernate, or searching for food or water when their normal supply dwindles, can make winter a tough time.
So lending a hand will help ensure they make it through and return to your garden year after year.
Hibernating wildlife such as hedgehogs need a place to overwinter safely.
With hedgehog populations on the decline, it’s crucial they find a dry, sheltered place to sleep where they won’t be disturbed.
If they wake up too early they will burn valuable body fat searching for food. Hedgehog homes can easily be bought, or knocked together with a little spare wood and nails.
You can check out my video on how to make your own hedgehog house at youtube.com/domoneyltd.
Fortunately, hedgehogs won’t be too concerned how their home looks – but as with humans, the location will make or break this property search.
Hedgehogs prefer a shaded, sheltered spot, preferably under some thick vegetation and away from any loud noises such as roads.
And they love dry, covered spaces so don’t forget to check your bonfire pile before setting it alight – hedgehogs could be nesting in there.
The little space behind a shed often looks appealing, so you can just add a little roof and doorway to this ready-made shelter and wait for some friendly hogs to make their nest here.
Leaving out a little water and some cat or dog food will help them boost their fat reserves before moving in permanently.
Frogs and other amphibians such as toads and newts are also on the hunt for winter lodgings.
These little guys prefer cool, damp and dark spots such as a damp log or leaf pile. Find a quiet spot in your garden, dig a shallow hole and part bury some stones, logs, or even a terracotta pot on its side. They’ll burrow themselves into this shelter to keep warm.
If you have a pond, aquatic frogs may be hibernating in the mud at the bottom so don’t allow your pond to freeze over completely as this will cut off their oxygen supply. Float a tennis
ball on the surface to stop the ice from sealing them in.
Insects that are vital to our ecosystem – such as bees, butterflies and ladybirds – will overwinter in hollow stems, underneath loose bark and in tiny holes in the ground.
Save them the trouble of searching for a place by opening up an insect hotel. Use odd bits and bobs around your garden such as straw, moss, pine cones and bamboo.
Stuff these into an open-fronted container such as an old biscuit tin.
You can even create various sections with different materials to accommodate different insect species. The kids will love helping to make these “hotels” and it’s a great way to teach them about beneficial insects.
Garden animals that don’t hibernate – such as birds and squirrels – will often rely for survival on the food you provide as their natural food supply dries up during winter months.
They need plenty of calories at this time of year to build up reserves of fat, which will help them as the cold starts to creep in.
Bird fat balls made from a mix of lard and bird seed assortment are the perfect winter snack – you can even mould the balls into other shapes and add ribbon to make homemade gifts for bird lovers. Leaving seed heads on some of your garden plants can also help wildlife as these are an important food source for many species.
Don’t forget to always keep a bird bath topped up with fresh water, and consider adding a bird box or two to your garden. Clean it regularly.
Different styles of box suit different species for nesting and breeding, so carefully target your winged visitors – with advice from your local garden centre – and, come spring, you might be lucky enough to see fledglings poking their heads out the box and learning to fly.
As temperatures fall in winter, nearly all of your garden wildlife will be relying on your help to survive.
It won’t cost you much to provide a little sanctuary or sustenance to help them out – and most of the materials you will find already lying around your garden.
Seeing these gentle creatures make your garden their home throughout the year is a wonderful reward for a small amount of work.
For more info, visit www.rspb.org.uk and www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk