RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife: 3rd edition

By Peter Holden and Geoffrey Abbott

A comprehensive single source of information on the plants and animals that live alongside us. This updated edition features new material on climate change, recycling and wild spaces in gardens.

This friendly handbook is full of practical advice on attracting wildlife to your garden and encouraging creatures to stick around. A helpful introductory section includes expert tips on green gardening, seasonal planting, how to deal with garden predators and how to get children involved in gardening. A DIY chapter, with a step-by-step guide on creating projects for your garden – from building nest, bat and hedgehog boxes to making your own pond – is also included.

From foxes to finches and from lizards to ladybirds, colour photographs illustrate almost 400 garden species, including mammals, birds, insects, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, flowers, trees, shrubs and fungi, while the comprehensive text explains everything you need to cultivate a haven for nature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Feb 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781399403252

Peter Holden

Peter Holden has written nine books, including the bestselling RSPB Handbook of British Birds and the acclaimed RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife. He worked for the RSPB for more than 40 years.

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword by David Lindo

The RSPB

Introduction to the Third Edition

A Nature Reserve on Your Doorstep

Making a Wildlife Garden

Boundaries, Borders and Lawns

Trees

Shrubs

Peanuts, Scraps and Slugs

Log Piles and Compost Heaps

Wildflower Meadows

Buildings

Water Features

Seasonal Management

Monthly Guide

Predation in the Garden

The Green Gardener

Wilding

Dry Gardens

Secret Garden

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles and Amphibians

Invertebrates

Spiders

Insects

Butterflies

Moths

Wild Flowers

Garden Plants

Trees and Shrubs

Fungi and Non-flowering Plants

DIY in the Garden

Nest Boxes for Birds

Bird Tables

Hedgehog Boxes

Garden Ponds

Pond Animals ID Guide

Pond Plants ID Guide

Insect Homes

Bat Boxes

Glossary

Picture Credits

Acknowledgements

Producing a book like this requires the time and commitment of a large number of people to bring an initial idea to its natural conclusion. We are grateful to both Bloomsbury and the RSPB for listening to our ideas and sharing our vision, and thanks also to all those who advised on the selection of species and helped choose some stunning photos.

This edition has benefited from the people who contributed to the first two editions and in addition our editor, Jenny Campbell, and the designer, Austin Taylor. Throughout the production of all three editions Julie Bailey has been our guide and mentor and brought her extensive knowledge of natural history publishing to this volume.

Once again we thank our respective families for their forbearance in allowing us to negotiate our way around family commitments as we gathered the material and kept to our deadlines.

We have drawn on numerous sources of information. Lifelong personal wildlife observations have been augmented by reference to many existing books, journals and scientific papers to ensure the material we have presented here is both accurate and up to date. We are thankful to field naturalists both past and present who have published their material and made it available to the world at large.

For readers who would like more information, there are a great number of books specialising in individual topics that are very accessible, particularly those published by Bloomsbury and the Collins New Naturalist series. In addition, the Plantlife, Butterfly Conservation and RSPB websites are especially recommended.

Peter Holden and Geoffrey Abbott

Foreword by David Lindo

Gardens are a vital resource for wildlife and a major contributor to biodiversity. You don’t need a grand space in the countryside or an affluent suburban plot – you can transform even the tiniest urban areas into a wildlife haven and provide nesting, resting and feeding sites for a plethora of fauna and flora.

Although gardens have existed since the time of the Romans, the private household garden, as we know it, is an invention from the Victorian era. It is estimated that 87 per cent of UK households now have a garden. That’s almost 23 million gardens and, according to a Royal Horticultural Society estimate, equates to more than 270,000 hectares. No garden is too small, insignificant or urban to make a difference. Even a small patch of wilderness is a veritable jungle to an invertebrate. Returning a tiny portion of your garden to nature impacts the planet’s health and all its inhabitants, including us. Imagine the patchwork of biodiversity-rich habitats connecting the nation in a contiguous national nature reserve we’d create if we all did that.

As a child, my garden in urban north-west London was my sanctuary: the place I retired to when I finished school, when I was upset, when I needed solitude, when I was with friends, and, most of all, when I just wanted to be close to nature. The first nature reserve I ever visited was the garden at my family home. It encompassed several different habitats that eventually covered large tracts of the garden – well, they seemed large to my young mind. I was warden, curator, architect and chief cat-scarer of my managed natural domain. Initially, I created a small rockery near the back door where I re-housed all the creepy crawlies I could find, sometimes with unintentionally devastating consequences. Too many spiders close to potential prey was not a good idea!

I commandeered the apple tree to hang all manner of dodgily constructed homemade bird tables and peanuts in cheap plastic bags bought at the local corner shop with hard-earned pocket money. I would spend hours with my butterfly net trying to catch anything that moved within my little wilderness. Over the years, I realised the importance of gardens for Britain’s wildlife and flora, and I am glad that Geoffrey Abbot and my friend Peter Holden collaborated to produce this superb updated edition of the RSPB’s Handbook of Garden Wildlife. It is a compendium of great ideas for making your garden irresistible to wildlife and a place of tranquillity and beauty, regardless of location or size. We Britons love our gardens and take pride in making them a reflection of ourselves. I love how Thomas More beautifully summed up what gardens mean to us in his book Utopia: ‘the soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden’.

I despair when I view front gardens that look like concreted-over car parks. When I look out the window as I ride on the overground, I practically weep when I see back gardens patioed over with sterile wooden slatted fences to mark out territories, separating and dividing. Gardens may differ in design, but it’s heartbreaking how many offer no opportunity for anything other than a few ants to survive. The current fashion is the rolling out of fake plastic grass. A personal bugbear of mine, artificial grass is as inviting to wildlife as chainsaws to a virgin forest.

I hope anyone considering adorning their backyard with lifeless AstroTurf or concrete patio blocks will look at this book and be inspired to contribute to the planet by designating a tiny corner of their garden to nature. And I hope those who already realise the many benefits that wildlife gardening brings – for wildlife and our mental health – will take ideas from this book and enjoy introducing them to their own corner of the planet.

David Lindo

theurbanbirderworld.com

The RSPB

The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity. It works locally in the UK, and around the world, for the conservation of birds and nature.

The RSPB’s vision is a shared world where wildlife, wild places and all people thrive. It protects and restores habitats, saves species, shares knowledge and connects people with nature.

Together with other organisations, governments, businesses and individuals, it works to protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and coutryside will teem with life once again.

Led by science, its work ranges from everyday actions that help protect and restore natural environments and save species to global conservation that can be seen from space. Wildlife gardening is a practical demonstration of support for this work and a contribution to supporting local biodiversity.

Reserves such as Leighton Moss in Lancashire are home to an amazing variety of wildlife, including Marsh Harriers.

The threats that nature faces are vast, which is why the RSPB encourages everyone to do their bit and help in its mission to end the nature and climate emergency. Buy purchasing this book, you are helping to fund the RSPB’s important conservation work, so thank you.

Please do what you can to support our wildlife, either on your own or working with others.

Nature is in crisis and we need to work together to save it.

You can find out more about the work of the RSPB at rspb.org.uk.

Introduction to the Third Edition

It is 14 years since we wrote the first edition of this handbook and we are delighted that so many people have found its contents useful.

Gardens are special places. We create them for our own pleasure and no two are alike. Some are neat and tidy while others are – how shall we put it – more natural! Some have vegetable plots, but most have only lawns and flower borders. Some have mature trees while others are recent creations, with no trees or shrubs at all. With so much variety, it is not surprising that there is no definitive list of garden wildlife.

No wild plants or animals are found exclusively in gardens – they have not had time to evolve to match the requirements of this relatively new and varied habitat. However, many species, from woodpeckers to woodlice, visit us regularly and some stay to rear their offspring. Wild plants also occur in gardens: we often think of these as ‘weeds’, although the authors prefer to regard them as wild flowers that are simply in the wrong place!

During the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, many people discovered or rediscovered the value of wildlife in their personal lives, and gardens became a new focus of attention; even balconies and window boxes had a new importance for our health and well-being, as well as for nature.

Since the first edition, wildlife has continued to come under pressure. New houses tend to have smaller gardens. Hedgehogs, Starlings and House Sparrows have further declined, and non-native species such as Ring-necked Parakeets are more dominant in many places. Gardens are increasingly regarded as important for nature conservation and we have expanded the contents of this book to reflect the latest thinking, including wilding and climate change.

Our gardens can be intricate webs of life, and understanding this web – and improving it from year to year – is the real aim of this book.

Garden spiders are an important part of the local wildlife: both as a predator and as food for other creatures.

A Nature Reserve on Your Doorstep

Water is important to birds for bathing as well as drinking.

As our countryside comes under pressure from agriculture and leisure activities, much of its wildlife is struggling to cope. As a result, gardens have become more important for the survival of all sorts of species, from the familiar Robin to the elusive Blackcap, and from the urban Fox to the agile Common Frog.

Just as nature reserves are specially managed for wildlife, so you can plan and maintain your garden to create the best possible conditions for the widest selection of species. Like a reserve warden, the wildlife gardener knows what is on his or her ‘patch’, makes plans to develop a space that appeals to as many species as possible, and manages the site to maintain a balance that suits both human and wildlife occupants.

Species that live in gardens can’t survive in isolation. A garden is a miniature ecosystem, and understanding its whole food web is important. For example, the Song Thrush is a popular garden visitor and Garden Snails constitute some of its food. In autumn, the thrush is likely to be eating berries, but when that crop is exhausted, earthworms and other invertebrates become essential to its diet. Retaining some snails in the garden, planting berry-bearing shrubs and having plants that are home to invertebrates are all key to a successful wildlife garden and will ensure the Song Thrush survives throughout the year.

The wildlife potential of a garden can be enhanced by carrying out structural improvements, such as erecting nest boxes and bird tables, constructing a pond or even making small modifications to a building. You might also enjoy keeping a record of the species you identify in your garden but, most importantly, you need to have a master plan. If you do all this, we are certain you will be surprised and enthralled at the results.

Making a Wildlife Garden

Get to know your garden It may sound obvious, but the first step towards creating a successful wildlife garden is getting to know what is already there. Make lists of the plants, insects, birds and other animals you see, including the months in which they flower or visit. If you are unsure where to start, you could use the index of this book as the basis of your personal checklist.

Look out for any birds that might be nesting in or near your garden, as well as other animals like Hedgehogs or bats that could also breed there. If possible, wait a whole year before making any significant changes to your garden, otherwise you may inadvertently lose some key features that are already attracting wildlife.

Planning

Next, draw up a garden plan. This may be a simple map indicating the key features of the garden. Be sure to include any features outside the garden boundary that might influence your plans, such as a mature tree with overhanging branches. Mark areas that are shady, and also note those that get direct sunlight. Indicate the main compass points too, as orientation is important in the siting of structures such as nest boxes or beetle banks.

Mark on the plan ideal sites for nest boxes, bat boxes and a pond. Even if you have a small garden, consider leaving part of it untouched with more native plants, which can become your own wildlife haven. If possible, decide which area of the lawn is least used and cut the grass here less frequently.

Gardens of all sizes can include bird feeders and ponds, which may attract a variety of birds, amphibians and invertebrates.

Boundaries, Borders and Lawns

Boundaries

Around the edge of your garden there is usually some kind of boundary, such as a fence, wall or hedge. Animals do not recognise our self-imposed partitions so, for obvious reasons, hedges are the most wildlife-friendly option, especially if they comprise native shrubs such as Holly, Wild Privet, Hazel or Hawthorn. The inclusion of additional shrubs such as Dogwood, Spindle and Beech can provide even more interest and be even better for wildlife – like the old mixed hedges of farmland. Planting new conifer hedges, such as Leyland Cypress, should be avoided as they have limited wildlife benefit and drain the soil of nutrients and moisture. However, think carefully before removing any pre-existing conifers, as they might be home to nesting or roosting animals. Even if a garden in surrounded by walls or fences, small hedges can be introduced as dividers or as a backdrop to a garden pond.

Fences and walls have limited wildlife value except as supports for climbing shrubs and plants, and for nest boxes. Fixing trellis to a fence or wall will help plants climb up it, and these in turn support open nests, such as those of the Blackbird or Song Thrush. The vertical face of a wall can be used for growing Ivy and Honeysuckle, both of which are popular with insects. Thick shrubs on a wall are excellent for House Sparrows, and make for a great foraging and nesting habitat for other birds. A dense cover of more exotic varieties of jasmine, wisteria and Barberry have their own value for roosting and nesting.

Thick climbing shrubs provide shelter for nesting birds and roosting places in winter.

A well-stocked herbaceous border attracts insects like butterflies, moths, bees and hoverflies.

Well-chosen species planted along a boundary can also give added security: plants with thorns, like Holly, Hawthorn, Blackthorn and Barberry, are likely to deter trespassers, and a thick growth of Bramble or wild rose is as effective a deterrent as barbed wire. No wonder so many small birds nest in such places!

Borders

Just because the emphasis here is on wildlife, there is no reason to banish many of the usual garden flowers. Indeed, a traditional herbaceous border is not only colourful but is also very good at producing nectar for insects, especially bees and butterflies.

To create a wildlife-friendly border or flower-bed, choose a sunny aspect and select plants that attract insects. Lavender, marigolds, valerians, Foxglove, Sunflower, Red Hot Poker, catmint, flowering tobaccos and spiraeas all flower in summer, while stonecrops and Michaelmas Daisy are ideal for autumn. A good ground-cover species that is also popular with bees in spring is Lungwort. Of course, the actual plants that grow well will depend on your soil and their position in the garden. In small gardens, similar effects can often be created with cleverly planted tubs and hanging baskets.

Lawns

The dominant feature in most gardens is the lawn. It is used by birds such as thrushes and Starlings, which probe into the surface for worms and other invertebrates. It may also be home to some common wildflowers such as Daisy and clovers.

Hummingbird Hawkmoths were once mostly seen during summer holidays in southern Europe, but they now frequently visit UK gardens.

Confiding Robins allow us to observe their lives close up.

Perfect-looking lawns that are raked, fertilised and weed-free are not good for wildlife. Weedkillers and artificial fertilisers should not be used, as some plants like clovers feed the lawn with nitrogen and their flowers provide nectar for insects. Wildlife-friendly lawns should be cut less frequently and left to grow a little longer, and one area should be left to grow even longer and seed naturally, before cutting in autumn or, even better, the following March. In larger gardens a wildflower meadow can be planted and then cut after mid-July. Finally, never water a lawn as it is too wasteful of this precious resource. Managing your lawn in a wildlife-friendly way can save you time, money and energy, as well as benefiting wildlife!

THE IDEAL LAWN

The ideal lawn arrangement in terms of benefits to wildlife includes areas of short grass where birds can feed, and longer grass that provides seeds and also a habitat for insects and their larvae. Mow the lawn with the blades set at a height of 3.5–5 cm, and stop mowing the area that is to be kept long in May and leave it alone until mid-July. At this time, rake off the ‘hay’ but leave some tall grass until the following March, when it can be cut and raked. If you have more than one area of long grass, cut at different times of the year, ideally late summer and late winter. Cutting long grass can be difficult without a strimmer or powerful mower, although smaller areas may be cut by hand.

Trees

Silver Birch trees produce catkins in spring, and an abundance of seeds (food for tits and finches) in autumn.

Some new trees may appear naturally in the garden as small seedlings, while others need to be planted. Those that appear naturally are generally species whose seeds are dispersed by the wind, such as the maples, including Sycamore, or those with berries that are dispersed by birds, such as Rowan. To germinate, some seeds need to pass through an animal’s digestive system. Acorns and chestnuts may also be buried by squirrels or Jays, and inevitably some are never retrieved and go on to germinate.

Introducing trees to a garden can be challenging, and don’t be too quick to remove existing trees. Studies have shown that trees more than 2 m high are one of the priorities for wildlife gardens. And, if your available space will permit them, trees add height and interest to any garden, and are hugely beneficial, providing food, shelter, nest sites and shade to a host of different species. They are, of course, generally slow-growing, and care needs to be taken during planting to ensure they are not placed close to a building or somewhere their roots could damage drains or underground cables. Whenever possible, it is advisable to consult a site plan that shows the locations of services before planting trees.

Trees need to suit the size of the garden. Generally speaking, the larger the garden, the larger the trees that can be introduced. To help wildlife, try to select mostly native species, especially those that grow wild locally. Oak and Beech are valuable, but they need plenty of space and take several generations to mature.

Fieldfares may visit gardens to feed on windfalls.

Rowan and Silver Birch, on the other hand, grow more quickly. Most conifers are not suitable, for the reasons already outlined (see here), but the native Scots Pine may have a place in some gardens, as does the evergreen Holly.

Fruit trees may also be planted in larger gardens. A traditional cultivated apple, pear or plum tree adds diversity, is good for early bees, provides a fruit crop in autumn, and the windfalls are food for a variety of birds, mammals and insects.

Shrubs

As with trees, the number and species of shrubs that can be accommodated in a garden will be dictated by the size of the plot. And, like trees, some shrubs may arrive naturally – birds may bring Holly or Hawthorn, for example, depositing seeds from berries eaten elsewhere among their droppings.

A mixture of native species and non-native berry-bearing shrubs will help attract insects, give cover for nesting and roosting birds, and provide autumn and winter food for birds and small mammals. Aside from the many native berry-bearing species such as Dog Rose, Elder, Hawthorn, Spindle and Dogwood, non-native shrubs like Barberry and Firethorn are especially good for a variety of birds as they provide them with both food and shelter.

The ground below the shrubs is also important to wildlife. The old leaves that collect here can be home to many tiny invertebrates that are a vital component of the garden food web. A positive sign is when you observe a Blackbird flicking over the dead leaves in search of its prey.

Comma Butterflies seen in autumn will attempt to hibernate for the winter.

Some shrubs grow quickly and require regular pruning, but be careful not to prune during the nesting season (March–August), when trimming can expose nests to unnecessary dangers. Also avoid reducing the size of the bush too much in the face of winter, as dense shrubs are often secret night-time roosts for many of our small birds.

Shrubs provide food and shelter for insects, which in turn attract a wide variety of birds, such as Blackbirds hunting for berries in autumn.

Peanuts, Scraps and Slugs

Peanuts

Peanuts are a highly nutritious bird food; however, putting them in gardens can sometimes be a risk to the health of wild birds:

• Poorly kept nuts sometimes contain aflatoxin. To avoid this risk only purchase from a reputable dealer (such as the RSPB).

• Whole nuts in the breeding season can potentially choke young birds so should be avoided at this time, or used in mesh feeders where adults can only take very small portions.

Also, there are usually many more ‘airmiles’ linked to peanuts compared with locally grown Sunflower seeds, which are also popular with many small birds.

Scraps

Before commercial bird food was available people generally fed garden birds with ‘kitchen scraps’ and, with care, this is still beneficial – and also contributes to our domestic recycling.

You should avoid desiccated coconut, and long bacon rinds should be chopped short. Cake and breadcrumbs have only limited benefits, but pastry is excellent. Meat and fat chopped and put out in containers will be popular with birds such as Starlings, while thrushes will generally eat soft fruit and food with currants and raisins (although these should be placed out of reach of cats and dogs).

Be aware that garden birds cannot metabolise salt and that it can be toxic to them in high quantities. For this reason, salted food should never be offered to birds, and nor should salt be used to de-ice bird baths.

Generally it’s good to feed birds in the early morning and remove any uneaten food from the ground before nightfall (unless you are feeding Hedgehogs).

Slugs

Slugs are not popular but they have a place in a wildlife garden as a food source for Hedgehogs, toads, centipedes, ground beetles and Slow-worms. They also help recycle natural plant materials.

Harmless deterrents include:

• ‘Slug tape’ around pots or a natural yucca extract which can be sprayed on the ground; however, more natural materials including sharp grit, crushed eggshells, soot, pine needles, forest bark, coffee grounds and ash may also be used.

• ‘Pit-fall’ traps made from old yoghurt cartons and containing beer or milk may help – but raise the edge 2 cm above the ground to prevent beetles falling in.

• Make a slug trap from a piece of cardboard held down with bricks, or a piece of carpet, and remove any slugs it attracts.

• Try spreading lettuce or cabbage close to delicate plants and remove any slugs that they attract.

• Consider planting a ‘sacrificial’ crop of lettuce to preserve other special plants.

Mesh feeders ensure that birds can only take small pieces at a time, reducing the risk of choking when adults feed their chicks.

Log Piles and Compost Heaps

Composting plant material is an excellent way to avoid waste and feed garden plants.

Log piles

Dead wood is a miniature habitat. It supports fungi as it slowly decays, while the spaces inside and under a wood pile will be colonised by invertebrates such as woodlice, ants and snails. Insects hibernate inside log piles or under the peeling bark, and small mammals such as voles may also be attracted to them. Larger piles may provide nest sites for Wrens and a few other species.

To create a log pile, use local wood from garden tree branches and avoid bringing logs in from woods and other sites. If a tree or woody shrub dies in your garden, leave it in situ and let nature take it over, or plant Honeysuckle around it to create a feature.

Compost heaps

Compost systems are an effective and eco-friendly way to recycle garden and household waste. Modern composters are plastic containers that have limited wildlife value until their contents are eventually fed back into the garden. More traditional compost piles or heaps, on the other hand, have a greater wildlife value, attracting insects, birds that probe them for food, and even reptiles, which may be drawn to the heat generated from the rotting vegetation within.

To prevent rats or Rabbits from digging into a compost heap, it is best to construct a retaining wall of robust wire, burying the lower edge 10 cm or so into the soil. The dimensions of the heap can be 1 sq m or more, and the waste that can be added to it includes grass cuttings, soft garden prunings, leaves, uncooked kitchen vegetable waste, and some newspaper and household shreddings. In general it takes a year for most materials to decompose, although some – such as large amounts of grass cuttings and leaves – will take longer. For this reason some gardeners use a system of several different piles that mature at different times.

Wildflower Meadows

Leaving an area of grass to return to its wild state may result in some surprising additions.

In larger gardens it may be possible to create a wildflower meadow, either by managing part of the lawn in a different way or by sowing a new ‘meadow’. The area does not have to be large, but it does require a sunny position. Access to larger garden meadows can be made more practical and interesting by mowing a narrow winding path through the area.

Creating a meadow can be as simple as letting the grass grow and encouraging wild flowers like clovers and Daisies to spread. However, by introducing wildflower seeds, which can be bought from many suppliers, you will achieve a larger mix of species. Flowers like Cowslip (spring), and Field Scabious and Knapweed (summer) all look attractive and are popular with insects, especially butterflies.

The secret to a wildflower area is knowing how and when