How to make your garden wildlife-friendly
Weasel in wall
We are pleased to share this insightful post about wildlife-friendly gardening written by Susan Young who is a photographer and writer based in South Devon, who has a wealth of experience in wildlife photography. She had a nursery at one time and often gave advice on gardens.
When wildlife gardening is discussed, the emphasis is often on plants for butterflies and bees, with some mention of birds, but frequently, little is mentioned about wildlife gardening for mammals. This is something we will address in Mammal Week, with a webinar later in the year giving more comprehensive detail.
The main requirements to consider are water, food and habitat.
Water
The easiest way to supply water is with a wildlife pond. Even a small pond can be suitable. The pond shown was made with a few rocks cemented together and made waterproof with a cement base. The pond attracted birds during the day and small mammals at night.
A larger pond will attract small and large mammals to drink, and may attract bats who feed on the insects on or near the water surface. The main criterion of a larger pond is that it has a sloping edge so that wildlife can climb out easily.
Small bird bath
Food
Different species require different food, but in general food should be in a natural form close to what wildlife species would seek themselves. More detailed advice on feeding mammals can be found here.
Mammals (and other wildlife)
It is important to supply food sources that mammals would normally find in their environment. Many of us will have put out some peanuts for badgers for example or set up a feeding station for small mammals with seed or peanuts. This is fine from time to time, but regular feeding mammals can encourage dependence or leave them vulnerable to predators or disease.
Natural sources of nuts eaten by small mammals include acorns, hazelnuts, beechnuts, conkers and seeds from teasel and thistles. Thus, if your garden is big enough, native UK trees such as oak, hazel, beech and chestnut could be planted.
Berries are an important source of food and can be found on brambles, holly, pyracantha, rosehips, rowan and elderberry. Fruit from crab apple and wild cherry is another source of food. Badgers, deer and other mammals will enjoy windfall apples and pears.
Bats generally forage for insects and moths, so planting flowers that open at night will attract the insects and moths that bats can eat. Suitable flowers are nicotiana and evening primrose, for example.
Butterflies extract nectar from flowers, and suitable plants are buddleia. lavender, marjoram. A comprehensive list can be found on the Butterfly Conservation website.
Marbled white butterfly on knapweed
Wildflowers (AKA weeds to some) are valuable for moths and bees as well as butterflies, and often are food plants for caterpillars.
Birds require seeds, berries and fruit, depending on the species of bird. Seed-bearing plants are teasel, thistle and knapweed, which are wildflower plants. Dwarf sunflowers are a great seed source for birds and small mammals and it is worth planting a few.
Plants such as nettle and verbascum are the food plants of common caterpillars and can be a valuable source of spring food, although perhaps not welcomed by all gardeners.
Dwarf sunflowers
There are many shrubs and trees with berries and fruit that can benefit birds and mammals such as holly, ivy, rowan and fruit trees.
Habitat
Habitat is related more to how plants and inanimate garden features are arranged. Patches of rough grass with self-sown wildflowers offer valuable cover for small mammals as well as a wide range of insects.
Small patches of bare earth, especially if sloped, can provide homes for solitary bees as well as small mammals.
Wildflower meadow
Woodland with an understorey of young trees and shrubs will attract a wide range of mammals from dormice to hedgehogs, deer, badgers, foxes. Woodland provides cover from predators and food sources. Badgers often dig out their setts in woodland, with foxes often using unoccupied setts or rabbit burrows. Bats may roost in trees, and birds build nests.
Many of us are not fortunate enough to own woodland, but we can provide homes for mammals, either by using features already present in the garden or by adding features. Nest boxes for birds are commonly added to gardens, but it is possible to creature features that wildlife may use.
Log piles offer a good hiding place for small mammals who often build nests or dig tunnels under the logs. For those who appreciate the presence of voles, small mammal ‘caves’ can be provided. Even if voles and mice are not your favourite species, they are a favoured food of owls, weasels, stoats and foxes. This can often give difficult choices – building homes for one species can lead to their destruction by other species. However the chances are by providing cover, you will save many more than would be taken by predators
Nest boxes can be erected on trees for dormice (but if they are used by dormice, you will need someone with a dormouse license to open the boxes as dormice are a protected species).
For those in areas with pine martens, nest boxes can also be erected on trees.
Hedgehog homes can be built in even small gardens, although it is important to have gaps in fences so that hedgehogs have a wide range to forage for food.
For the more ambitious, drystone walls with suitable gaps can be erected for stoats and weasels, artificial badger setts can be created and for those near rivers, otter holts can be positioned.
Written by Susan Young
Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of the Mammal Society.
