Your spring guide for wildlife

Blue Tit

Spring has finally sprung with the dreary days of winter finally melting away, making way for spots of sunshine, flower buds and the beginning of breeding season.

A helping hand to wildlife can be so appreciated at the beginning of springtime, where many birds are readying for the breeding season by gathering nesting materials and gathering high quality food for their offspring.

Natural food is in good supply, but there are always things we can do to make our green spaces work better for wildlife. You can help by making careful and considered choices about gardening, providing water and limiting your disturbances to wildlife when nesting.

Food

SongBird Survival has made the difficult decision to stop recommending you feed garden birds year-round, due to emerging evidence that suggests this could have negative impacts on specialist bird species.

Feeders can cause more harm than good during the warmer months, as diseases can survive in these warm environments, and spread quickly where birds congregate.

However, the opportunity to provide food through natural sources is always welcome, and we strongly recommend planting for wildlife (see below for more detailed information). For more ideas on what to plant in your garden, visit our garden for birds campaign pages.

gardens for birds

Water

We always recommend providing water year-round to birds and other wildlife. As the seasons change and rain becomes less frequent, fresh, and clean water can be harder to come by.

By providing water in a bird bath or open container, you can ensure that birds and other animals have the opportunity for a drink.

Make sure to clean your water source regularly, as bird baths can be the perfect spot for disease to spread if not regularly maintained.

Redstart

Shelter and nesting

Springtime means only one thing, its breeding season!

It is time to clean off your unused nest boxes and make them ship shape for this year’s house hunters. A thorough clean ensures there is no way for disease to spread between birds and there are no parasites left in old nesting materials. Make sure to clean nest boxes thoroughly and wash your hands after you are finished.

Remember if you ever see a baby bird on its own, to follow the instructions here:

baby birds

Another great thing you can do to help wildlife during the spring is provide nesting materials for birds to use.

There are a few different options, which include:

Planting long grasses in your garden for birds to use in nests
Placing grass clippings, twigs and leaves in an old wire bird feeder or in a pile for birds to take after maintaining your garden.
Offering nesting wool (you can purchase this online or in some garden centres)
Creating a small tray of wet mud for house martins to take for their nests when the ground is dry

house sparrow

Gardening in the spring

You may be keen to get your gardening gloves on as soon as the first dry and warm days of spring appear.

But first take a second to assess your garden, do you have nesting birds already? Make sure you take note of where you think any nests may be before beginning gardening, to ensure you don’t disturb nests.

Here are a few of our top tips for gardening for wildlife in the springtime:

March and April are great times to sow hardy annuals, wildflower meadows and herbs in your garden. Many of these are perfect for attracting bees, butterflies, and birds!
May is a good time to start planting tender annuals or your summer bedding plants. If the weather is looking good, you can also plant up your hanging baskets to add a pop of colour.
Try and minimise your lawn mowing. Volunteering for No Mow May is a great start, or even leaving only one small area uncut generates so much shelter and food for wildlife.
Weeds aren’t always the worst thing, many weeds provide great food for all sorts of wildlife. However, if you want to de-weed your garden, try and do so manually, and definitely don’t use any pesticides. Our research has found that gardens that use pesticides have fewer house sparrows.

For more gardening tips, click here.

gardening

Other wildlife

Spring is a beautiful time for wildlife, and after a long and cold winter, providing for wildlife can be a great helping hand. The sound of the birdsong, the hum of bees on freshly bloomed flowers and the sight of butterflies flapping from plant to plant make us happy.

Try these tips for a well-rounded garden:

Be careful when you let your pets out. So many different animals, including birds are breeding in spring. Its worth doing a quick reccy to check no chicks or other little beasties are on the floor before allowing your dogs or cats in the garden.
Keep an eye out for baby hedgehogs that may need help. Often baby hedgehogs (also called hoglets) may wander from the nest, but only intervene following the advice of the RSPCA (click here)
Provide a bee or bug hotel for insects to make a home in your garden, helping pollinate flowers and as food for the birds.
If you have a garden pond, give it some attention and make sure it looks clean. You may need to add some new pond plants to help oxygenate and clean the water.

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Your spring guide for wildlife

Spring has finally sprung with the dreary days of winter finally melting away, making way for spots of sunshine, flower buds and the beginning of breeding season.

A helping hand to wildlife can be so appreciated at the beginning of springtime, where many birds are readying for the breeding season by gathering nesting materials and gathering high quality food for their offspring.

Food

Water

Shelter and nesting

Another great thing you can do to help wildlife during the spring is provide nesting materials for birds to use.

There are a few different options, which include:

Gardening in the spring

Other wildlife

Spring is a beautiful time for wildlife, and after a long and cold winter, providing for wildlife can be a great helping hand. The sound of the birdsong, the hum of bees on freshly bloomed flowers and the sight of butterflies flapping from plant to plant make us happy.

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Your spring guide for wildlife

Spring has finally sprung with the dreary days of winter finally melting away, making way for spots of sunshine, flower buds and the beginning of breeding season.

A helping hand to wildlife can be so appreciated at the beginning of springtime, where many birds are readying for the breeding season by gathering nesting materials and gathering high quality food for their offspring.

Food

Water

Shelter and nesting

Another great thing you can do to help wildlife during the spring is provide nesting materials for birds to use. There are a few different options, which include:

Gardening in the spring

Other wildlife

Spring is a beautiful time for wildlife, and after a long and cold winter, providing for wildlife can be a great helping hand. The sound of the birdsong, the hum of bees on freshly bloomed flowers and the sight of butterflies flapping from plant to plant make us happy.

DONATETODAY

BECOME AMEMBER

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Another great thing you can do to help wildlife during the spring is provide nesting materials for birds to use.

There are a few different options, which include:

DONATE
TODAY

BECOME A
MEMBER