Winter habitats are important for food and shelter
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Making Space for Nature by Roz Summers
Autumn has now arrived, and it is a time when the many creatures with whom we share this planet start to prepare for winter by increasing consumption, migrating to warmer climates, or by creating their winter stores of food.
For many fungi, autumn is when their fruiting bodies appear and reproduce by spreading spores amid the fallen leaves that lie undisturbed on the ground. Whilst looking ahead to months of cooler and windier weather, I find myself reflecting:
Did I sit in a park on a sunny day and hear the bumblebees buzzing in the bushes? Did I hear rustles and scurries in the undergrowth and wonder what was happening there? Did I watch a hopping blackbird, or strutting jackdaw stop to peck a worm?
Like random "craic" at the supermarket checkout, or a smiling "bairn" on a bus, these everyday brushes with nature throughout the year give me a jolt of joy. But so often the grass was too short for blooms, the planted flowers were hybrids, neither offering food for pollinators. There was no buzzing, no bees and few birds. Autumn is a time of reflection on this phenomenon.
The No Mow May campaign has gathered pace now in spring, but autumn can be just as an important time to do a little less in order to make space for nature to thrive. Leaving nature to complete its cycle, such as by letting fallen leaves lie undisturbed and vegetation to rot down.
Fallen leaves are an important and protective habitat in the winter for many insect species. As they decompose, they also provide a source of nutrients for creatures living under the ground as well. Those same insects are an important food source for birds, providing much-needed nutrition through the winter.
Top tip: if you do fancy a bit of raking, you can pile leaves and twigs in a corner for hiding creatures instead of disposing of them. Put a weight on top to prevent the wind blowing them away and let the pile become a habitat. The other benefits are that in the spring, much of this leaf litter will have decomposed, and can go back onto the beds as a mulch. It is an incredible free fertiliser, which helps soil biodiversity.
Some of our attitudes can start to change, like the seasons, when we look at things differently. How do you feel about dandelions and other "weeds" for example? They often grow where nothing else wants to, can endure pollution in road verges, and are beautiful early forage for bumblebees.
Nettles feed the next generation of small tortoiseshell butterflies. Those larger clutches of rosebay willowherb and buddleia often found in the unkempt areas provide important nectar to a wide range of creatures. But since a patch of rosebay isn’t for every garden or park, in planning for next year’s planting here are a couple of ideas for enhancing your plot, which are also great for pollinators:
Plant out now a few snowdrops and crocus (not the hybrids) to provide pollen and nectar for many insects in January and February. These bulbs are better than daffodils, which don’t hold as much value for early nectar.
Goat willow is often used as a hedging plant and it has a wonderful pollen producing flower in April which will feed queen bees in early spring and enable them to start egg-laying. Willows grow well from cuttings which you can start now – so if you have a corner in mind, give it a go!
Finally, whilst busy planning for spring plantings for nature this autumn, don’t forget to leave messy and undisturbed corners with piles of wood, leaves and cuttings for the "wee beasties" to hibernate in. In examples like these, by doing less, you’re helping to do more.
- Making Space for Nature is a monthly wildlife column with tips about how we can act to help wildlife in our communities. This month’s wildlife columnist is Roz Summers, High Life Highland countryside ranger for East Caithness.
- Roz Summers studied biological science at Edinburgh University. She has held countryside ranger positions from Aberdeenshire to West Lothian, before taking up her position in the Highlands.
