Once the shortest day has passed and the days start to get longer, we can start to think of Spring. January, however, can be a tough time of year for wildlife as food starts to run out and the temperatures drop. There are still lots of things you can do to help the creatures in your garden survive the cold.
Feeding Birds
Now is the time to fill your feeders with a higher calorie food to help birds withstand the drop in temperature. Providing suet balls are a really good addition to your feeders as they also will help give your birds energy to survive the cold.
Water is just as important, it’s really worth checking any water in your garden is thawed so that birds in particular have something to drink and bathe in.
Plant Winter Flowering Plants
Plant for future winters and grow plants such as holly, ivy and cotoneaster which provide nectar and berries. It’s also a great time of year to plant native trees and shrubs such as hawthorn or crab apple to attract wildlife in future years. Whilst shrubs and trees are dormant, bare-rooted plants are often cheaper and often establish more easily than pot grown ones.
Ponds
If you do have a pond, it’s very important to prevent it freezing up completely so try and make sure at least some of your pond remains ice free. Remove any debris and pop a tennis ball into the pond to help prevent it from freezing.
Nesting Boxes
It’s a great time of year to plan for the Spring by putting up nesting boxes or cleaning existing ones. Some early nesting birds will already be looking for places to raise their young and nesting boxes can also provide roosting spots for the very cold weather.
Deer
This time of year, in this location, there are often deer on the roads. Deer are crepuscular, which means they are most active during the early morning and evening hours so dusk and dawn. Unfortunately at this time of year it is still dark during these times, so it makes it a very hazardous time for deer.
Living where we do, it’s worth driving extra carefully at dawn and dusk, scanning the side of the roads to see if any are about to cross. Where there is one, there are likely to be more so watch out for stragglers!
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