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Wildlife gardening


BY MARTIN GEORGE, WILDLIFE ADVISER AT CJ WILDLIFE


Gardening for WILDLIFE


The winter months can be particularly challenging for our wildlife, but you can give a helping hand.


O


ver winter, the biggest challenges facing garden wildlife is an increase in the need for calories and a reduction in the hours available to find food. Add in bad weather and the increased competition as animals move to reliable food sources and it’s easy to understand how winter survival can be difficult. We can help by providing high-energy foods, ensuring a reliable source of clean water and minimising disturbance of feeding or hibernating animals.


Foods rich in calories, such as sunflower hearts, peanuts (from a safe source) and fat cakes can be vital for a range of garden wildlife, most noticeably birds, but in late autumn and early spring hedgehogs will be desperately trying to lay down sufficient reserves to survive their winter hibernation. With the exception of bats, other mammals will need to eat every day, so providing supplementary food can be a real help. For birds, the short winter days make life difficult, so high-energy foods and the opportunity to feed without disturbance in the first and last hour of the day can be vital. If possible, keep pets indoors at this time and think about putting out extra feeders during cold snaps. Hibernating amphibians and


hedgehogs can also be at risk from garden maintenance. If you discover hibernating animals, gently replace any soil or other material so that they can hibernate safely, and be particularly careful when building bonfires. Ideally the materials should be kept off the ground to avoid animals taking up residence, but if that isn’t possible, a good tip is to move a bonfire a short distance before igniting it, just in case it’s been adopted by a hibernating hedgehog. Obviously if you do find a ball of leaves in the base, replace some of the materials over the hedgehog’s winter nest and leave it in peace until the spring!


Squirrels and smaller rodents will be present throughout winter, and a few lucky gardens will also get to see rare


Leaving some dropped fruit provides a welcome treat


Seeds are an essential food source


visitors, such as pine martens, that are attracted either by the food being offered, or the creatures that are eating it. Birds are much more mobile and we are all likely to see winter migrants. Some will have travelled thousands of miles to escape harsher weather, while others may be local, driven into our gardens by lack of food in the countryside. It looks as if 2015 has been poor for tree seed production, so we may see lots of birds such as siskins, bramblings, and lesser redpolls in our gardens. All will eat seeds and will appreciate a chance to drink and bathe. Bramblings are similar in appearance to chaffinches, but the males are a warm orange colour with a brown/black head, neck and upper back in autumn which gradually changes into glossy black by the spring. Both sexes have a white rump, so if you see a flock of what looks like


chaffinches and notice a few white rumps as they fly away, they may be bramblings. However, bear in mind that bullfinches and goldfinches also have white rumps. Adult male siskins are a bright yellow/ green with a black cap and chin. The rump and outer tail is almost a pure yellow. Females are more soberly attired, being a brown/green and lacking the cap and chin markings. Lesser redpolls often associate with flocks of siskins and can be mistaken for females of that species, but if you look closely they’re easily recognised by the red on the crown and a small black throat patch or bib.


Winter sees the arrival of fieldfares and redwings. Fieldfares are the same size as a mistle thrush and are grey on the head and back with black tails. Redwings are similar in size and shape to a song thrush; in fact only the cream eye stripe and the red around the wing separate them. So be on the lookout this winter for all sorts of wildlife coming into your gardens and be sure to have plenty to offer them in terms of food.


To find out more, to place an order and for a 10% discount visit birdfood.co.uk/ scottishwildlifetrust15


NOVEMBER 2015 SCOTTISH WILDLIFE 19


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