How do you make a wildlife garden?
The question is a simple one but there are many in-depth answers that we could respond with. We are under-taking exactly this task – making the Embrace Nature UK garden more fit for wildlife. Chris Packham once stated that despite his efforts in managing his garden, his neighbour had all the wildlife even though they did nothing to encourage it. It’s true that a scrappy piece of land can invite all sorts, though our intention is to entice a variety of animals by creating the necessities that they require. We will cover these things in more detail in future blog entries but for now, here are some of the things you can do to begin your wildlife garden.
Food
This is pretty obvious. Animals, birds and insects all need food but sometimes it comes down to more than just ‘nipping’ to the shop and purchasing bird and hedgehog food. This is a part of it but it’s more beneficial if you bring natural nutrients to the garden as well. One way to do this is to invite insects to the party first. Building an insect house is a great way to do this. An insect house might come in the form of something you purchase from a shop, a log pile or a home-made insect haven formed from wooden pallets.
Insects also need food of their own though, which is where clever planting comes in. Look for bee-friendly flowers and maybe keep an area for nettles so butterflies can lay their eggs on them.
Shelter
This is something that you can once again build yourself. Bird boxes, hedgehog homes and shelters for frogs and toads are all things that can be relatively easy to create and make a big difference to the wildlife in your garden. Plenty of foliage in the garden can be used to make these shelters a little more discrete and don’t forget those log piles! They are superb places for animals looking to hide away.
Water
Water is essential for life in your garden. Ponds are brilliant to have for those creatures that live in water or rely heavily on insects that surround water. They can be big or small and can be very simple to introduce to your garden.
It is also important to have places for birds to drink and bathe, in which case a bird bath is brilliant and for mammals such as hedgehogs, a bowl on the ground with water in is ideal.
Access
You won’t get wildlife in your garden unless you make sure animals can find a way in. This isn’t such an issue for birds and insects but for mammals such as hedgehogs, access is essential. Hedges are a natural way to keep access to the garden but if you have fences, you can simply cut a series of holes in the base to encourage some new visitors.
It is not only access to the garden that is required for wildlife. It’s important to have food and water that can be accessed by the species visiting. This might mean having a variety of water and food sources to please different creatures.
Access is also vital to avoid disaster. Create routes out of ponds so hedgehogs can find their way out if they fall in.
Embrace Nature UK – Episode Two
In Episode Two of Embrace Nature UK (available on Youtube), we have a look at the work we’ve done so far to get our own wildlife garden started. Keep watching this space to see the progress we make over the coming months.
The story of the persecution then recovery of Red Kites in the United Kingdom is a great example of success for reintroduction and one that is commonly referred to. We have gone from having a very small protected population in Wales, after a dramatic affect from human impact, to being a common sight in the skies above us. The Embrace Nature UK team are very fortunate to be located in an area that is exceptionally good for Red Kite numbers as we are not far from one of the release sites. It is not uncommon for us to look out the window and see a Red Kite flying past.
Whilst the recovery has been embraced by many, not everyone sees the benefit in a recovering population. Birds of Prey often have enemies, which is why they have been at risk for so long. Many members of the public enjoy heading to Red Kite Feeding Stations where they can enjoy close encounters with hundreds of Red Kites at a time so it might come as a surprise that not everyone is enthusiastic about their comeback. Some people see the birds as a threat to their own livelihoods or hobbies, which has led to birds being trapped, poisoned, shot and the destruction of their nests.
Whilst the RSPB is aware of many incidents, they believe that there are more that go unreported and therefore are trying to prompt the government into increasing protection for birds of prey at risk. It’s no wonder when the rarely-caught criminals then get away with seemingly light sentences. There will likely always be a struggle between those who love and wish to protect birds of prey and those who would rather they weren’t around.
A common scenario we have come across in the past is people blaming birds of prey – most notably Sparrowhawks – for a decrease in song bird populations. The argument is fruitless as there are direct links to habitat loss being the cause for many bird’s difficulties. The balance between predators and prey is also one of the most natural and sustainable evolutionary symbiotic relationships imaginable.
Most issues for many creatures now can be easily traced back to human impact, so to demonise birds of prey and suggest that their existence is threatening other species shows a remarkable misunderstanding about their nature.
Thankfully some people have worked to find kinder solutions to troubles that might arise in terms of protecting livestock. An example of this would be keeping young Pheasants in release pens until they have grown enough for the threat to have reduced.
Sadly, even though some gamekeepers have managed to live peacefully beside birds of prey without so many losses, it takes a long time to change minds and so the problem is likely to persist. We certainly hope that a solution is found to move closer towards keeping bird of prey numbers high as we’ll never get bored of looking up and seeing spectacular birds gliding along right above us.
Spiders are a difficult subject to photograph. It doesn’t seem as if it should be that way as they are everywhere. This is what makes it so frustrating when trying to capture a good, or even remotely OK photograph of a spider. There they are, sat in the dark corner of your living room, doing something interesting in one of the most amazing creations by a creature – their web – and yet everything that a photographer hopes for when capturing an animal, is missing from this scenario.
The light is bad, the composition is bad, the background is dire, the web is dull, if you focus on the spider’s eyes, the legs are blurry, if you increase the aperture, the shutter speed is too low and the spider is still BLURRY. When you get it in focus to a reasonable degree, guess what?! The overall lighting and appearance of the scene is so terrible that the only rightful place for the image is in the trash.
This might be enough to put you off of spider photography for life, but fear not! There is a way to take good photographs of spiders but you have to be choosy.
Some photographers may move spiders to a location where they can safely control the lighting and the position of the spider, but this only suits one type of spider photography. If you want photos of spiders in their natural environment, exhibiting natural behaviour, you need to approach the subject differently.
We’ve put together these points to help you improve your spider photography and walk away smiling.
Choose a subject in the open
It may sound obvious but in order to avoid bad photos of a spider in a dark corner, you need to photograph a spider that isn’t in a dark corner. The lucky side of spider photography is that spiders really are everywhere. Look on and in walls, amongst gravel, on your lawn, in trees and there will likely be spiders. Greenery makes for a nice background and you may find a greater variety of species around the garden than you do in the house.
Lighting
This is immediately helped by going out of doors to photograph spiders. The time of day can influence how much light you have and sometimes you’ll find a sunny day brings out a lot more spiders, and therefore more options as well. Macro lenses immediately take light away from you, so the brighter it is outside, the better chance you have of getting a good balance between aperture and shutter speed. If your spider is stationary you might benefit from using a tripod so that the shutter speed will have little bearing on how well the shot turns out. This will allow you to use a smaller aperture (a larger ‘f’ number) and in turn have more of the spider focussed.
Hold your breath
These two spiders were very active a few days ago in the Embrace Nature UK garden. The light was not on our side, nor was their location in which case getting them focussed or in good light at all was extremely difficult. The photos will not be winning awards but show the behaviour as we followed a few of our own suggestions to capture their activities. One of the ways we did this was by holding our breath whilst taking the photograph. As the spiders were moving continuously a tripod didn’t seem appropriate. There was one bit of bright green in the garden at that time so we had to crouch to get it in the background, then sway back and forth trying to get the spiders in focus. We were breathing hard at the end of it but holding our breath for the photograph stopped us from losing that fleeting focus that was essential to capturing these images.
Take your time
Rushing photographs can often lead to poor results. Many spiders will sit still and seem oblivious to your frantic attempts to capture a good image of them. Before the days of digital photography we had to rely on our eyes at the moment of taking the photograph to achieve the results we desired. Nowadays we have a ‘cheat-screen’. We can check how the light has turned out, we can zoom in and see if the subject is focussed and whether we have successfully composed the image. This new-found glimpse into the outcome of our work in the field is not to be underestimated. Check that the photographs you are taking are good, and if there is something you don’t like, tweak the settings until you get photos that you’re happy with. Spiders may have their difficulties as photographic subjects, but sitting still is maybe one of their real qualities. This will not always be the case but in many situations you will have the chance to take your time and criticise your images as you go; resulting in better over-all outcomes.
Jump for action
As with any animal, you need to expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything in order to get great shots. Keep your batteries charged and your camera accessible with plenty of free shots on your memory card as action can happen at anytime. Perhaps you pop into the garden to empty the bin and then see a beautiful spider wrapping another spider in its web. It’s easy to pass by and ignore this because it’s “just a spider”. It isn’t. Never underrate arachnids. They are as interesting and incredible as any other creature you might stumble across with your camera. I won’t pretend I don’t have a fear of some spiders but they fascinate me, and if you want good photographs of them, they should fascinate you too and make you want to share their beauty with the world in the form of your photography.
Embrace Nature UK once asked a group of people, who would not describe themselves as nature-lovers, what they did in their spare time. Many of their answers were activities that included enjoying the natural world such as going for a walk or feeding the ducks. We realised that you don’t have to consider yourself a nature-lover to embrace nature and appreciate different aspects of it. So what does it mean to embrace nature in the UK? We’ve put together these ideas to keep you inspired and show how you can enjoy the wild world whether on a small scale or large.
1. Eat Wild
In 2006 we visited Guatemala and spent two weeks eating fresh food. Pineapple never tasted so good so was a huge disappointment when we returned to the UK. There is plenty of great tasting food back home though and it’s even better straight from the tree, bush or ground. You can either grow things in your own back garden, or go and seek some snacks out in the wild. A word of caution though…make sure you definitely know what it is that you’re picking. Something poisonous can easily be mistaken as edible and the consequences can be fatal. There are lots of books available to help you avoid such mistakes so you can enjoy eating wild safely. Why not also take your food outside to eat either in your garden or make up a picnic of wild treats to be appreciated out of doors.
2. Get up early / stay out late
We are both night owls and early birds as there’s so much to see at both ends of the day. Get up really early during Spring to hear the dawn chorus and watch the sun rise. Stay up late throughout most of the year to see hedgehogs. Dependent on where you are you might see a variety of things including badgers and foxes. We love running in the late evening when deer are more active as well as bats and owls or early morning when you might have a close encounter with a hare or other mostly nocturnal animals that are making their way to bed. Animals are rarely keen on crowds, which is what makes these quiet times so special.
3. Climb a mountain
We may not have the highest mountains but we have some beautiful peaks in the UK. Why not don some walking gear (and safety accessories) and make your way to an enjoyable route somewhere in Great Britain. Snowdon and Ben Nevis have great views but aren’t the only fun places to explore. It’s not only mountains that are enjoyable to climb. There are some brilliant hills too. One of our favourites was The Cobbler in Scotland. It’s dramatic, beautiful and a good walk. It’s also close to other hills and mountains in case you want to kill two birds with one stone. Most mountains and hills have more than one route up so you can truly get to know all angles of the landscape. We have had countless exciting walks up Snowdon from different angles in all weathers and will likely never get bored.
4. Go camping
Camping does not just mean one thing. There are all sorts of types of camping now but our favourite is out in the wild where you’re truly alone and can experience nature at its best. Camping isn’t just for summer either. So long as you’re well-equipped, winter camping can be pretty cool. We’ve enjoyed camping experiences on Snowdon and Scafell where you awake to stunning scenery. It’s definitely not for the light-hearted though as the weather can make camping feel dangerous and very cold.
An experience for the whole family is often better on a campsite where children can be introduced to the enjoyment of the great outdoors but without the danger and with facilities. Toasting marshmallows can be a brilliant alternative to computer games and can bring the family closer together.
5. Star gazing
We get more clear nights than you might think in Britain and you start to realise this when you choose to look up. We’ve had some good years of asteroids and eclipses to look out for but you don’t need fancy equipment to enjoy watching the night sky. Websites such as www.spacecentre.co.uk tell you when something exciting is happening though there are many occassions when you just need to look up to see shooting stars or appreciate the beauty of the stars and moon. Why not try learning a bit about constellations and the science behind the activity in space to get even greater enjoyment from taking the time to step outside and look up.
6. Swim outdoors
What is now a popular activity referred to as wild swimming was once simply called swimming but the enjoyment factor has not changed. The water is often cold but there’s something about braving it and jumping right in that makes swimming in the outdoors so fun. There are loads of places to enjoy it but some of our favourites include the rather chilly fairy pools on the Isle of Skye, Loch Morlich in Scotland (although this was especially cold!) and a more peculiar swim was with a bed through the river Nidd in preparation for Knaresborough’s famous bed race. Whether you choose to don a swimsuit, wet suit or dry suit, get in the water and find an activity that you enjoy to fully embrace the natural world in the UK.
7. Garden
Anything that can get you out of doors for a prolonged period of time can help you get closer to nature. Gardening can be good for your health in various ways. It can be good exercise, get you out in the fresh air and can also be relaxing. Gardening can also be good for nature if done in the right way. Have a look at our ‘Project Garden’ blog to see how we are gardening for nature.
8. Watch nature in towns and cities
You don’t have to be in the wilderness to see nature. There are plenty of animals and birds that favour towns and cities. They often congregate there as food is readily available. Whether it’s Pigeons in crowds in the town centre or Foxes idling from bin to bin during the night, they can be pleasurable to watch. Why not stop and look to observe their behaviour? The RSPB often sets up in cities to watch Peregrine Falcons on the tops of buildings and show the public these wonderful birds that are so often missed.
9. Climb a tree
More so associated with being a child, climbing trees need never get old. It’s great fun to spend a day with all the family in a woodland climbing fallen trees to see how far you can get. We’ve always found the New Forest to be a great area for this as there are large fallen trees that still present a great challenge. Kids love taking part and adults can’t deny that they all still hold a childish side inside of them.
10. Watch a wild event you’ve never seen before
There are a lot of incredible wild events to witness throughout the UK that many people may not be aware of. Tourists flock to places like Blackpool but so do Starlings and the event is magnificent. The Deer rut can be seen throughout Great Britain and you can enjoy seeing a variety of species become boisterous and play out this natural behaviour, which never ceases to be entertaining. The Capercaillie lek, Great Crested Grebe mating dance, Toad mating season, boxing Hares and Seal mating seasons are among many great spectacles to see in Britain.
The sudden “whoosh” over our heads tells us that we are under attack. One after another Great Skuas turn in the air and aim for our heads. Sometimes they hit with a wing tip or their belly but the mere sight of them dive-bombing is disconcerting enough to send you ducking to the ground.
St Kilda, Scotland, is host to enough Great Skuas to make you feel that the species is doing well but this nesting area is vital due to decreasing numbers overall.
The Skuas have a reputation for being bullies and for good reason. It’s easier to steal someone else’s meal than to catch your own so Great Skuas (known locally as Bonxies) can often be seen intimidating other seabirds into dropping their food.
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Remains of other smaller seabirds can be found in areas where Bonxies live as sometimes become the meal themselves. Therefore a growing population of Skuas in one place can be controversial due to the impact they have on surrounding bird populations.
On St Kilda the need to protect the Great Skua is greater than that of other species though. As is often the way with nature, the impact that is had upon other species should even out as the years pass but from year to year the presence of these robust birds is made clear as they sit at the top of the hierarchy of the skies.
There are quite a few places on the island of Hirta where there is danger of attack from above. Whilst the inclination is to look up, it’s actually your feet that you need to watch as the Skuas are launching an attack to protect their offspring that are sat within the grass.
They are very protective parents and you can see why when you see their adorable chicks. They won’t stay that way for long though before becoming protective parents and pirates of the air themselves. There is a certain enjoyment in seeing Great Skuas though and watching them thrive in remote locations. With protected areas like St Kilda to host them, we should be able to enjoy the boisterousness of Great Skuas for years to come.
As the Summer takes over Spring, many wild things slow down and the height of activity comes to an end. However, you need only know where to look to find great wild views at this time of year. Summer is a wonderful time to visit wildflower meadows.
The colours are fantastic as is the wildlife. Many meadows are closely managed to ensure they come out in full impressive bloom and when they do, they aid the survival of many species of plants and insects.
This is a meadow I visited recently in North Yorkshire and I think you’ll agree, it certainly is quite beautiful!
The Embrace Nature UK garden gets a lot of visitors – some regularly and some just for part of a day. We’ve not been aware before of how many damselflies and dragonflies fly through the garden but this year, we’ve seen a lot!
Dragonflies have superb agility and are powerful in flight, which is thanks to their ability to move their two sets of wings independently. Sometimes it can be easy to overlook small creatures because of their size but if you take the time to look more closely, you’ll see how fascinating they can be. Insects such as Dragonflies and Butterflies are so brightly coloured that, thankfully, we can spot them a little more easily. However, this was not always a good thing though whilst bright colouring has been a factor in the downfall of butterfly populations, Dragonflies have escaped that particular evil. It was not uncommon years ago for people to kill butterflies for their collections. They once would have been numerous but now their numbers have dwindled, which has also not been helped by habitat loss and most likely pesticides. Dragonfly’s colours fade when they’re killed, which prevented people from collecting them, however their numbers have still declined due to habitat loss.
There are two main groups of Dragonflies – the True Dragonflies (Anisoptera) and Damselflies (Zygoptera). They are fairly easy to tell apart as true Dragonflies are unable to fold their wings whereas Damselflies and Demoiselles are often seen perched with their wings folded.
Spring and Summer are a great time to get out and about to local ponds or lakes to find Dragonflies. You may see them elsewhere and later on in the year but to see them en masse, it’s worth picking your place and time. We have always found very sunny days to be a great chance to see them sunbathing, which sometimes will allow you the opportunity to get a bit closer and have a look at their incredible colours and intricate wings.
Dragonflies are so well formed and evolved that they remain very similar to a genus of insects that existed during the Carboniferous period (approximately 300 million years ago); called Meganeura. The order containing Dragonflies and Damselflies is called Odonata, which in Greek means ‘toothed one’. As you can imagine, this would have made them somewhat daunting during the Carboniferous as they were a lot larger and some species had wingspans of up to 70cm.
However, it has not been the adult form of Dragonflies that has inspired the most fear in people. Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ appears to be partly based upon an earlier form within the lifecycle of a Dragonfly. Before metamorphosing into the winged adult, the Dragonfly lives as a nymph, underwater and as an effective predator. It’s lifespan as the nymph is typically longer than that of an adult and can be for about 4 years before it emerges to change. It has an extendable jaw, which is an effective hunting tool as it moves about underwater looking for prey. The extendable jaw has now become infamous through the film ‘Alien’ and the concept made the perfect frightening monster. Thankfully, now Dragonflies are somewhat smaller than their Carboniferous relations so we can observe and appreciate rather than fear this magnificent creature.
We had our own close encounter with this remarkable insect one day after heading into the Embrace Nature UK garden and finding a Damselfly in the Hedgehog’s water bowl. I fished it out and found that it was still alive but its wings were stuck together. As Damselflies need all four wings free to fly, the only way this one would survive is if we could separate them.
The Damselfly and I spent 45 minutes together as I tried to separate its wings with a blade of grass. We’re happy to say the patience paid off and after the lengthy struggle, it moved all of its wings and took off to freedom.
The only camera we had to hand was from the Kindle but here’s the little one who made it to fly another day!
Last year we enjoyed a wealth of hedgehogs visiting the garden and it felt like a long winter waiting for the next season of hedgehog activity. Now it’s here and it’s getting even more entertaining! Last night we had three hedgehogs visit during the evening. Two adults were sniffing and snorting at each other for a long time and even though occasionally they would walk away from each other, they would return to continue the snorting. They didn’t appear to be mating but we did wonder whether it could be a male and female working up to it. Whilst they were snorting away, a little rustle in the bushes alerted us to a juvenile (first for us of this year!) that made it’s way over to us. One of the adults came and sniffed at my feet and when the youngster came out, it scared the poor creature by heading over to it and circling it whilst sniffing until it seemed satisfied that it wasn’t a threat. The little hedgehog ran off at the first opportunity and seemed a little stunned by the experience.
Despite the hot and dry weather the hedgehogs seem to have no difficulty finding plenty to eat in the garden, which is probably mostly down to the birds scattering seed and suet during the day. We leave out large shallow trays of water so there is a large supply for these thirsty creatures.
After beginning to tackle the big garden project we made room for new fences to replace those that had been battered by high winds. The fencing company was familiar with the request for hedgehog holes and obliged; creating some perfect hedgehog-sized square holes all the way down the garden in the fences. They mostly stuck to putting holes in places where the hedgehogs would have walked before changing the fences and we can see that they’re using these holes. The other side of the garden sits a hedge, which is perfect for the hedgehogs to wonder from one garden to the next.
We’re looking forward to seeing how our hedgehogs get on and whether there will be even more visitors as time goes on…watch this space!