Gardeners can help birds, insects and frogs survive the colder months with some simple steps

It may have been a mild autumn so far, but as soon as temperatures drop, wildlife garden visitors will be looking for places to hunker down.
Hedgehogs will make use of twigs and leaves in your garden as they prepare for winter. (Picture: PA).Hedgehogs will make use of twigs and leaves in your garden as they prepare for winter. (Picture: PA).
Hedgehogs will make use of twigs and leaves in your garden as they prepare for winter. (Picture: PA).

Hedgehogs, birds, amphibians and insects all need a helping hand, and Adrian Thomas, RSPB wildlife gardening expert, says there are things we can do to help.

“Whether you have a garden, balcony, or doorstep, the simplest way to help birds is to put out supplementary food. Sunflower hearts, peanuts, nyjer seed and fatty nibbles will all go down a treat with a range of birds, but do make sure you keep feeding areas clean and hygienic.”

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Plant shrubs, trees and climbing plants to boost their natural food sources, he adds. If you choose your plants well, in time they will provide berries, nuts and seeds through many of the coldest months of the year.

Frogs can benefit from the help of gardeners. (PA).Frogs can benefit from the help of gardeners. (PA).
Frogs can benefit from the help of gardeners. (PA).

Keep birds hydrated by incorporating a bird bath into your open space, which will also keep their feathers in good condition.

Finally, there’s shelter. If you’ve planted shrubs or trees, they will be an invaluable roosting space for many birds, while nest boxes can also help.

“You might even see multiple birds bunking up – wrens, for example, are normally pretty solitary, but in the winter they’ll happily huddle together to stay warm,” says Thomas.

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Like birds, hedgehogs will be now foraging for as much food as they can to see them through winter, and are particularly partial to meaty cat or dog food and kitten biscuits, says Grace Johnson, hedgehog officer for campaigning group Hedgehog Street.

“As they enter the hibernation season they need to put on a lot of body fat to be able to last through winter,” she says. “Put the food away from the house as they may be nervous about coming too close to lights or noise. It’s a good idea to put the food into a feeding station such as an upturned storage box, cutting a small entrance for the hedgehog but keeping cats and foxes out.

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“Hedgehogs are faring better in urban and suburban areas because our gardens can create a variety of habitats for them. If you make a little gap in your fence to give them access you may well see them,” she adds.

Compost heaps and log piles provide good hibernation retreats, but hedgehogs will also be building hibernation nests she points out, so leave a wild patch in your garden where they will make use of leaves and twigs.

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“Being cold-blooded, [frogs] basically park up and close shop for the winter months,” explains Sean McMenemy, founder and managing director of wildlife products specialist Ark Wildlife.

“The male frogs will go to the bottom of a pond in winter, so even if you don’t have fish it’s a good idea to put a ball on the surface of a pond to stop it freezing over.” Amphibians will also shelter in log piles, but you need to protect them from frost.

“One of the most common things you find in gardens now are solitary bee (nesting) tubes with holes drilled into them,” McMenemy says. These are often hung on trees or mounted on south-facing walls or fences and hold the larvae, which will hatch out the following spring.

The last of the queen bumblebees will now be evident in gardens, looking for hibernation quarters, he says. Hollows in tree trunks or holes in the ground provide ideal conditions. Leave late-flowering plants to do the last of their blooming, which will give bees the additional energy they need before winter.

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If you want to go DIY, fill an empty cereal box with newspaper and hang it upside down or line an unused nest box with torn-up newspaper to make an overwintering site for insects.

Or fill a clean jar with old newspaper and hang it upside down on a bamboo cane to give overwintering butterflies and moths shelter, he suggests.

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