Bringing a Little Wildlife to Your Own Space: Birds are perhaps some of the easiest wildlife to attract to your garden, especially if you have a feeding table. I’ve shared a few steps below you can take to bring a little wildlife into your own space.
There are various reasons that many of us either travel the world or aspire to travel the world. We want to see new scenery. We want to hear different languages being spoken. We want to open our eyes to unfamiliar cultures and different places. But something that also encourages people to travel is seeing wildlife. Think of the huge success of African safaris, where you can see lions, cheetahs, zebra, giraffes, antelope, rhinos, hippopotamus and more. Consider the never ending numbers of people who travel to countries like Iceland to see puffins and whales in their natural habitat. People who go to Borneo to see Orangutans. American national parks to see bears.
Trips to the desert to see camels stroll across sand dunes. Wildlife is inspiring and seeing animals you’re not used to can give you a thrill. But have you ever considered the wildlife you can see without taking long flights or trips on ships? Many of us are oblivious to the extent of wildlife that lies right under our very nose, because we’re too busy focusing on other areas of our lives. Believe it or not, your own back garden could be turned into a reserve of its very own. I’ve shared a few steps below you can take to bring a little wildlife into your own space.
Birds
Birds are perhaps some of the easiest wildlife to attract to your garden. They tend to be active during the daytime, and whereas they are very wary, they will flock to any feeding table, as they have the advantage of being able to fly away from potential predators, such as pet cats or dogs. They’re also easy to please. All you have to do is have some good bird seed and some sort of feeding table or bird feed dispenser. Different seed mixtures and fat balls can attract different types of birds, with each having their own preferences.
But no matter what feed you put out, you’ll surely have some feathered friends flitting about to get their share sooner than you’d even imagine. Click here for a wide range of bird feed that will provide them with all the nutrients they need. If you want to go the extra mile, you could even put bird boxes up where birds can nest or bird baths where they can bathe. Just make sure to put them in a safe and open location. Placing feeders, houses and baths near bushes or trees can give cats and other animals a space to hide and sneak up on the unsuspecting birds.
Hedgehogs
Now, hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures, so if you actually want to see the ones you can attract to your garden, you may have to stay up late and keep an eye out on your garden for signs of movement. But they will pass through our gardens on a pretty regular basis and are a beautiful sight to see when they make their home in your garden. The average hedgehog will roam between one and two miles every night in search of food. So, you can make their quest simple by creating a hedgehog highway through your garden.
This can simply be a small gap made in the bottom of your fence that a hedgehog can pass through easily. This will reduce the amount of energy these spiky creatures have to put into scaling garden fences and rolling back to the ground to get from A to B. Just make the effort to ensure that the edges of the hole are smoothly finished to prevent splinters and injuries. You may also want to reconsider this option if you have a small dog who may be able to squeeze out of a hedgehog size hole.
Bees
Create a buzz by bringing a few bees to your garden. We’re much more reliant on these little creatures than you might initially believe. But they play an extremely important role in pollinating plants and allowing us to lead the lives that we do. Unfortunately, they are faced with a whole host of problems created by humans and their numbers are drastically declining. Save a few bees and have these beautiful insects roaming around your garden by planting plenty of bee-friendly flowers. Options that you might want to consider include Annual Scabious, Bee Sage, Rosemary, Sage, Sea Holly and Lavender. These are all loved by bees and will give them a source of energy in the form of pollen and nectar. On top of this, you can follow simple tutorials to create a bee shelter, or even order them ready-made online.
Being Kind
Remember, if you leave food out in your garden to feed wild animals, you can’t necessarily choose exactly which creatures will eat the food. At the end of the day, every animal is simply trying to survive and animals such as squirrels, mice, rats and more are just as likely to be attracted to food left out as animals people tend to be more willing to attract. If you are going to leave food out, expect animals of all shapes and sizes to visit. Most will not make a mess or a nuisance. Instead, they will just eat or pass on. If you find that too many animals are visiting your space, simply cut off the food supply. This is a humane and fair way to encourage them to pass through and search elsewhere. Remember, most animals will not willingly spend time in human spaces unless there’s a benefit in it for them.
These are just a few different creatures you might want to bring to your garden. Not only are they lovely to watch, but they can fill your outdoor space with life and you can give them a real helping hand too. The steps above should help get you started in the right direction and you’ll have a host of wildlife, right outside your door.
*Collaborative paid post*
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