Sean heads to the woods to witness the animals active around dawn, which inspires some ideas for wildlife-friendly gardening
WORDS: SEAN MCMENEMY PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK
FEBRUARY
Twit… “Who, me?” A childhood joke maybe, but a response I still find hard to stifle.
I’m wandering around the woods at silly o’clock in the morning, it’s dark, it’s cold and the tawny owl may actually be on to something.
I’m in the woods early to avoid the morning dog walkers. I’m here to see the wildlife change shifts.
The night-time crew are on their way home, passing the day shift. In the darkness, I use my ears and follow every sound with my head torch.
I find that most woodland creatures are not disturbed by my torch and carry on about their business.
A winter woodland in the early hours is a magical place of animals and intrigue.
In the space of five minutes I see big deer (fallow), small deer (Muntjac), foxes, badgers, and a stoat. Not to mention the owls who keep their beady eyes on me.
All these woodland residents seemingly melt away as the sun rises, not to be seen again until nightfall.
Most, if not all, these animals will visit our gardens given access and if food is available.
It’s such a shame that so many gardens are corralled with fences and walls blocking access and isolating them from nature.
Most UK mammals can be found within urban areas these days and I wish we welcomed them more.
There’s much folklore that surrounds our wildlife, bringing both good luck and bad.
It’s said that if you hear a badger call and it’s followed by an owl, you’re not long for this world. In which case I’m in trouble tonight!
I’m sure we’d all love our gardens to contain rivers, meadows, and forests to attract wildlife, but we work with what we have.
Instead, I plan “boundary habitat”, a space containing more than one habitat that provides for greater diversity of species. Rather than creating an island, I open my garden to create a corridor, rather than a fragment. Something as simple as a five-inch gap (often called a hedgehog highway) in fences allows wingless animals to use your garden, as well as the birds.
Another simple step I take is allowing ivy to grow – though it spreads fast and can damage trees, so plant in a buried pot to contain it.
Its dense evergreen foliage, nectar-rich flowers and berries arriving in late winter are of enormous value to wildlife. More than 5
