Your monthly guide on how to encourage wildlife into your garden all year round.
WILD BIRDS
Nest boxes and roosting nests help birds survive the winter by retaining important body fat. Thrushes, robins and tits sing for territories; blue and great tits will also be eyeing up your boxes ready for spring.
Check bird baths have not frozen.
MAMMALS
Squirrels feed on buds and stashed food supplies and
will be looking for any food you can put out; clean and
top up feeders.
BEES
If you have brought your solitary bees inside over the winter to keep the temperature stable, clean the nesting unit and line tubes with fresh paper straws. Occasionally a bee can be seen on a warm day, the most important food source over winter is ivy and willow, so please encourage this
in your garden.
INSECTS
Leave tall flower stems and dead heads on for
over wintering insects.
The occasional warm day in January can encourage butterflies to emerge. It is a risky game however, and you may need to put out sugary water to make up for the lack of flowers at this time of year.
