Garden wildlife UNCOVERED
In a year of staying at home, it’s no surprise that GW readers spotted more garden wildlife than ever. Kate Bradbury, our Wildlife Editor, shares the results of our annual garden wildlife review
For many of us, garden wildlife was a welcome tonic to global events last year. Being at home more meant we had time to see (and hear) wild species in our gardens. Many of us used the time to learn bird song or finally dig a long-awaited pond – congratulations if you did, and thank you for being a champion for wildlife.
Our 2020 wildlife review* – run annually since 2008 – was always going to be different. There has been an 11 per cent rise in wildlife sightings, due, I’m sure, to us spending more time at home, and a record 2,596 readers recording what they spotted. This might not be startling, but what did surprise me was how we all seem a little kinder than we were in 2019 – more of us are willing to clean our bird feeders to protect birds from disease, more of us are cutting holes in our fences to let hed gehogs in, and more of us want to add a bird box, bat box, bird bath and wildflower area.
2020 was a horrible year. But maybe we have channelled the anguish into a force for good, to save our wildlife. I hope so. *BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Wildlife survey 2020, carried out on 2-22 November 2020, 2,596 participants
2020 clearly wasn’t a painted lady year, with sightings down eight per cent since 2019. This is perfectly normal. The painted lady is a migratory species that arrives here from mainland Europe in May and the next generation returns in September. Every 10 years or so we get a large influx arriving in May, and sightings increase.
The last ‘painted lady year’ was in 2019 and the previous one was 2009. Will we really have to wait 10 years for the next?
DO YOUR BIT Grow more caterpillar foodplants. Our most common butterflies breed on nettles, buckthorn, honesty and cuckoo flower, long grass, holly and ivy. Grow more of these and you will likely attract more butterflies into your garden.