If you’ve got a house with a large garden, it’s likely that you live somewhere away from a major city. When you live in the country, you can take advantage of the fact that you’ll see local wildlife. What you might not realise is that you can invite the wildlife into your garden!
Humans and wildlife have lived alongside each other for millions of years. But, the sad truth is that commercial development has driven birds and animals away. You might be wondering why you should let the local wildlife visit and take refuge in your garden.
Well, for a start it means they’ll have a greater chance of survival. And, second, it’s nice for people to be “at one” with the local wildlife. There are all kinds of creatures great and small that could say hello to you in your garden. This handy guide will show you how to make that happen:
Consider the habitats you wish to create
Before you do any physical work in your garden, you need to start with the theory side of things! First of all, you must think about the kinds of habitats you want to make for the local wildlife.
For example, long grass provides the perfect habitat for egg laying. Trees and shrubs also help to create areas for nesting birds.
Don’t make your garden crowded
You might wish to create an environment suitable for many birds and animals in your garden. But, you could be in danger of crowding things up! The best thing to do is plan your garden but leave adequate space between each section.
That way, the garden gets kept manageable and pleasing to the eye. Don’t cram in all kinds of habitats.
Add some bird feeders
You’ll no doubt want to make sure that the local wildlife gets fed and watered when they come to visit your garden. For birds, the best thing you can do is add some bird feeders high up from the ground.
I recommend ones that have a mesh around the food so that animals like squirrels don’t steal the food! You can leave them some food separately on the ground.
Make a note of the wildlife that visits your garden
I recommend writing down the types of animals and birds that visit your garden in the year. It’s usually easy to identify animals like badgers, rabbits and squirrels, for example. But, what about birds?
Sometimes it can be hard to determine a bird from its markings. The good news is that it’s easier using bird song identification techniques. You can even use smartphone apps to record their sounds, and they’ll tell you what types of birds they are!
Maintain your garden
Last, but not least, it’s crucial you attend to your garden. The last thing you want to do is turn it into a wild forest! During the warmer months of the year, you’ll have to spend more time cutting the grass.
You should also prune any plants and get rid of weeds.