7 Simple Ways You Can Help and Protect Wildlife

Supporting wildlife doesn’t have to be a big ordeal or lots of extra effort. If you consider the wildlife that already visits your garden throughout the year you can aim to give them an extra boost to try and attract some new species while you’re at it. Most gardens already get some feathery guests throughout the year and you can do a lot to support local wild birds.

When attracting wildlife to your garden, you should consider their basic needs. All animals need food, water and shelter as very basics for survival. If you’re trying to turn your garden into a safe haven for birds, you can introduce nest boxes that you might even be lucky enough to see get used from spring into the summer months. Many birds try to nest in places that aren’t entirely appropriate like house guttering or building them in the crevices of sheds. Giving them better options like a nice, safe nestbox that shelters them from the elements is one way to protect them.

Encourage visits from pollinators and small mammals by planting native flowers, shrubs and trees. Simply choose a spot that receives enough sunlight, remove any weeds and break up the soil so the area is well drained! Dig a hole deeper and wider than the root of your plant, then pop your plant in, ensuring the top of your plant’s roots is level with the soil surface. Water it thoroughly and ensure it remains well-watered (some plants have varying requirements to keep them growing and thriving). The right mix can encourage wildlife all year round, for a thriving garden in every season.  

If you’re looking to attract other types of wildlife, Jollyes is home to essentials such as hedgehog food too. Jollyes can help keep your backyard busy with all kinds of garden guests!

Water sources are vital for all wildlife and will be a big deciding factor if your garden receives any visitors!

A bird bath or bird bowl is a great way to offer your local birds fresh water all year round. If they don’t have access to fresh drinking water they may have to use dirty sources to hydrate themselves.

If you're attracting other wildlife other than birds, shallow dishes or mini wildlife ponds are a great way of offering other animals fresh water sources from your garden. This is particularly necessary during the summer months, where high temperatures on sunny days mean hydration becomes key for not just you but wildlife too. If you are concerned about frozen water sources in winter, there's a few things you can do to prevent this from happening:

-        Regularly add warm water to the source

-        Position source in direct sunlight

-        Replace the water daily

-        Float a small ball on the surface to prevent freezing

Feeding wild birds is likely to maintain their presence in your garden, and different foods will attract different birds. You can put out different food depending on who you want to attract but also on the time of year and which birds are migrating to and through the UK.

There are lots of different things you can feed wild birds however there are plenty that you shouldn’t as well. You can be well meaning but do more damage than good by giving them the wrong food. Foods to avoid feeding your local wild birds include:

●      Any old or mouldy food

●      Dairy

●      Whole peanuts

●      Stale bread

●      Food containing salt 

It’s best to avoid most foods that are not for wild birds. While peanuts are good for them, feeding whole peanuts are a choking hazard and they should always be given shelled. Similarly, stale bread can be dense and hard to digest. If you’re throwing food out because it’s not up to your standard to eat, it’s probably not suitable for wild birds either. Stale and wilted food can cause stomach upsets. The best food for wild birds and the easiest way to feed them is by buying wild bird food specifically made with them in mind.

It’s important to be aware of how the needs of wildlife and wild birds can vary season to season. For wild birds, there is a wide selection of different bird food available, some more suitable for different species and some best for different types of bird feeders. You can choose between bird tables and hanging feeders, both of which require slightly different food. The kind of bird food that needs to be available for our wildlife friends varies by season, which we’ve broken down for you below. For wildlife, they hibernate in some seasons and reproduce in others, thus affecting their needs in each season. Keep reading to learn how you can help wildlife in each season, in your own garden!

In spring, birds are looking to nest and breed, so put up bird nesting boxes before breeding season begins in late February/early March. Offer pet safe nesting materials for them to line their nests with, like wool scraps or coconut fibres (avoid synthetic fibres).

For any other garden guests, there’s a few things you can do for springtime to make their lives a little easier. Encourage hibernating pollinators in spring to emerge by planting early-flowering bulbs like snowdrops or crocuses. Give insects cover by creating “wild corners” with patches of uncut grass and always check for frogspawn if you have a pond so you know to avoid disturbing it!

During the summer months, a constant supply of fresh water is key, so ensure you’re topping up any water sources everyday. This includes shallow trays for bees, and larger bowls for birds or mammals. Some birds will be rearing their young (the result of a successful breeding season), so provide a variety of food like seed, fruit or mealworms. While you can use fat balls in summer, the wild birds won’t be as desperate for those calories and they spoil quicker in heat so you might find yourself having to throw them out after a few hours.

To support wildlife, don’t mow your lawn without checking for hidden hedgehogs, frogs or slow worms – you’re disturbing their habitat and potentially harming them! Check the coast is clear. Look to honeysuckle or evening primrose to attract moths and bats – planting night-scented flowers will make your garden very popular! Just make sure you keep your pets away from baby birds and those feathered friends learning to fly – they’re not a tasty snack!

 

Autumn is calling, and you’re wondering how your garden needs to adapt to host thriving wildlife. Leave fallen leaves in a corner to create hibernation spots for both hedgehogs and insects. Keep those pollinators well fed before winter by planting late-flowering plants like sedum and Michaelmas daisies. Speaking of winter, wild birds need to build fat reserves, so high-energy food offerings such as sunflower seeds and suet are essential. It’s not just their diet that needs to change – clean out bird boxes so they’re ready for winter roosting! Some insects, amphibians and small mammals will be overwintering (the process of waiting out the winter season), so create log piles to support them.

 

With winter comes harsh weather conditions; low temperatures (often freezing), forceful winds and snow spells.  This is where survival becomes key, and there’s a great deal you can do that will help the local wildlife.

Offer fatty, high-calorie foods like suet balls, peanuts or fat balls, to help our feathered friends survive cold spells. Dawn Chorus Fat Balls are a great winter addition to your bird feeders. During winter birds spend a lot more time and energy trying to stay warm. The more calories and nutrients you can provide for them whenever they visit your garden, the better their chances of survival. Fat balls will help to boost their energy so if they need to spend it keeping warm, they will still have eaten plenty to sustain themselves. In the colder months, they stay fresh for longer and are a great source of food for wild birds.

Water sources remain just as crucial, so try to keep bird baths ice-free. Read above for our best tips on preventing a frozen bird bath! Sheltered feeding spots are important too – they protect wildlife from harsh conditions like wind and snow, whilst trying to eat. Keep your birds safe from predators by positioning feeders at least 5-6 feet above ground, away from windows (so they don’t fly into the glass), away from dense foliage cover (to minimise the risk of hiding predators) and within visibility of you so you can keep an eye on your garden guests!

Some hedgehogs may awake during milder winter nights, and dry cat/dog food does the trick as a midnight snack!

Make remembering wildlife essentials easy peasy with Jollyes’ Repeat & Save subscription plan – learn more here.

Jollyes Wild Bird Food is a great all year round option for your bird feeders. It’s packed with tasty seeds like black sunflower and yellow millet, packed with nutrients for your wild feathery friends. The best bird seed for wild birds is something with lots of variety so you can appeal to a wide range of different species and cover as much ground as possible. The Jollyes bird food does just that so if you want something that’s going to be nice and easy to maintain all year without putting too much effort into it, this is a great place to start. You can always supplement this with other feeds at different times of the year to make sure you’re giving your local wildlife the best boost you possibly can.

LFJ Millers Dried Mealworms are a delicious and nutritionally dense food to offer your local birds. You will be their favourite stop with this delicacy. Packed with fats, protein and fibre, they boost their natural diet to keep them fit and healthy through both summer and winter. You can offer dry mealworms in a dish or on a bird feeding table. You can even go with a more natural approach and sprinkle them in the lawn for birds to find. Spreading them out across the garden or having multiple feeding stations will help to reduce bickering over them. Dried mealworms stay fresh for longer because they’re dehydrated. In summer months you can soak them in warm water before putting them out which will help to keep your local birds nice and hydrated.

In maintaining the upkeep of your garden, it’s important to be aware if your garden and practices are actually safe for wildlife. Check your pesticide isn’t harmful and is animal safe, check before your mow or strim your lawn/trees and secure the edges of your pond. For parents to a cat or dog, learn more about safe gardening here.

In creating a paradise for birds you don’t just have to stop there, you can invite all different wildlife into your garden. You can play host to butterflies, bees and hedgehogs to create a space that is bustling with life. As more and more habitat is consumed by the population needing more housing, natural green space becomes increasingly rare but you can give back a little by providing them with the things they need to thrive. You can plant nectar-rich flowers and herbs to attract bees and make a little hedgehog home at the bottom of your garden where it’s nice and peaceful if you let the area get a little overgrown.

Bees, butterflies and other insects are essential to the environment for many reasons, but most importantly:

1.     Pollination – bees and butterflies are responsible for pollinating around 80% of the world’s plants!

2.     They aid the ecosystem balance through pollen transportation (which enables plant reproduction and genetic diversity).

3.     Butterflies are also a food source for many species.

4.     Their population number is linked to the health of ecosystems – if this number declines, it can create disruption.

5.     They break down dead plant matter so the soil receives its nutrients back.

Not only will your garden look like something out of a Beatrix Potter book but you can sleep easy knowing you’re giving back to the environment you live in and caring for your neighbours or all species! Don’t miss the seasonal selection of seed mix or potted plants Jollyes sell – these are helpful additions to your garden.

If you want to contribute more time and support to protecting your local wildlife, why not join community projects, clean-ups or citizen science programs? Local parks and community centres often host events or offer clubs which support the wellbeing of wildlife.

Caring for the environment as a whole will benefit local wildlife. Simply recycling, composting, and upcycling for wildlife-friendly purposes (e.g., turning old containers into planters) has a notable impact. If one person does it, that’s one more than before! Not recycling is contributing to the disruption of ecosystems, and inflates the need to extract raw materials, which has a negative impact on the environment. Try to avoid plastics and litter that are known to be harmful to wildlife too, such as binning plastic bags, plastic rings and bottle caps.

It’s important you know that your solo efforts do contribute to the overall biodiversity and environmental health! It may seem overwhelming, and frustrating that there is only so much you can do, but starting small and being consistent with these efforts do have the impact you desire, especially on local wildlife. And who knows, maybe you’ll inspire friends, family, neighbours or colleagues to begin their own environmentally conscious journey – your efforts could ripple and double in size! For more of your feathered friend’s favourites and wildlife winners, visit us in store or shop online today.