Top 5 winter wildlife in Highland and Moray gardens
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Help out our furry, feathered and other friends this winter by making your garden a welcoming wildlife retreat.
Robins and other feathered friends
No winter garden would be complete without a robin redbreast bobbing around looking for its breakfast! The colder months, particularly ones with hard frost, make life difficult for our feathered friends so it’s even more important to remember to put food out for birds visiting your garden. Energy-rich seeds and nuts such as sunflower seed hearts and peanuts, fruit or fat balls made with suet and mealworms are ideal. Remember, some birds are ground feeders while others prefer to hang off stations or tables away from predators so use a variety of food sources and you will have visitors all winter long.
Ladybirds and other overwintering beasties
Many insects need a safe home to get through winter. It’s not uncommon to see some varieties of bees, ladybirds and other wee beasties getting caught out by a cold snap or being disturbed because they try to make a home in your home! Bug hotels are a great way to provide shelter. www.rspb.org.uk
Red squirrels
Red squirrels don’t hibernate but keep stores of food to see them through winter. You can help them by supplementing – not replacing – their diet with hazelnuts (a favourite, especially in their shells) sweet chestnuts, sunflower seeds and pine nuts. Only put out small amounts every few days to avoid squirrels becoming dependent and don’t encourage reds to your garden if they have to cross a road.
Visit scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
Hedgehogs
They hibernate over the winter but some, particularly autumn juveniles, can get caught out by a cold snap. Leave out a small bowl of meaty dog or cat food and fresh water – not bread or milk as this makes hogs sick. If you find a juvenile, take it indoors, put it in a high-sided cardboard box with a blanket and a warm hot water bottle. If injured, take it to the vet. You can make a hog house in the garden out of a wooden box filled with dry leaves.
Frog and toad abodes
These creatures like to hibernate in a cool (but not cold), dark and damp shelter, safely away from predators. Some frogs use the mud at the bottom of ponds but many spend the winter on land. Give them a helping hand by creating an underground den as a safe lodging through winter.
