How to help garden wildlife in autumn and winter
Autumn and winter can be challenging for garden wildlife. Natural food becomes harder to find, water freezes and many animals need safe, undisturbed places to shelter.
A few simple changes can make your garden much more welcoming to birds, amphibians, insects and hedgehogs throughout the colder months.
Help garden birds
Birds rely on natural seeds, berries and insects, but these foods can become scarce during winter.
From November to April, offer small amounts of high-energy food such as sunflower hearts, quality seed mixes and unsalted peanuts in suitable hanging feeders. Suet and mealworms can also provide valuable energy and protein.
Leave seed heads on herbaceous plants and shrubs so birds can forage naturally.
Keep feeders dry, clean them at least once a week and remove old food from the ground. Provide fresh water every day and clean the bird bath regularly.
Help frogs, toads and newts
Frogs, toads and newts may spend winter beneath logs, stones, plant pots and leaf piles. Some also shelter in compost heaps or pond mud.
Create protected areas close to your pond using logs, rocks, leaves or dense vegetation. Take care when moving pots, turning compost or disturbing piles of garden material.
A floating tennis ball or similar object may help reduce ice formation on a pond. If the surface freezes, gently melt a hole using a container of hot water. Never smash the ice or pour boiling water directly onto the pond.
Help overwintering insects
Bumblebees may shelter underground or in leaf litter, while butterflies, ladybirds and lacewings hide in sheds, beneath loose bark and inside hollow stems.
Leave part of your garden undisturbed over winter. Long grass, fallen leaves, dry stems and log piles all provide valuable shelter.
Tie bundles of hollow bamboo or sunflower stems together and place them somewhere dry and protected. Avoid cutting back every border until spring, as insects and their eggs may be sheltering inside the stems.
Help hedgehogs
Hedgehogs build winter nests in leaf piles, beneath sheds, among logs and inside purpose-made hedgehog houses.
Create a quiet, sheltered corner containing dry leaves and logs, or position a hedgehog house away from busy paths and regular disturbance.
Leave out clean water and a small amount of meat-based hedgehog food, meaty cat or dog food, or cat biscuits. Never give hedgehogs bread or milk.
Check compost heaps, leaf piles and bonfire materials carefully before moving or disturbing them.
Create a wildlife-friendly winter garden
One of the easiest ways to help wildlife is to leave some areas naturally untidy.
Retain fallen leaves, seed heads, hollow stems and small piles of logs. Keep water available, avoid pesticides and take care before moving anything that may be providing winter shelter.
Explore our wildlife-care range visit Coletta & Tyson Garden Centre in Woodmansey, near Beverley and Hull, for bird food, feeders, shelters and more ways to support your garden visitors.