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by rats, voles and garden birds. (Findings were published in BBC Wildlife Magazine and you can listen to the author of the report discussing them here.) How much cats actually affect local wildlife populations remains unclear.In their heyday, my mum’s (now

. Hot and humid is best, apparently.In any one area, ants from thousands of nests will take to the skies at once, forming large, mating swarms. It's exciting, not least for insect-eating birds, which have rich pickings for a day or two. Of the bird

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Europe’s smallest bird. I would have expected such an occasion to take place in a pine forest or a large rural garden, but this chance encounter occurred on a scrubby piece of park just behind the Hackney Road

plants (such as peas and beans, clover, vetches and bird's foot trefoil) to provides bees with the best quality pollen and give them the greatest start in life. Mow your lawn less often to encourage white clover and birds’ foot trefoil to grow and provide

is host to a pair of blue tits and a pair of great tits. While they never nest in the garden, they use it to find food for themselves and their young. These birds have been doing this every year for the past four years now and, with the exception of last

landscape.Native plants are much better for our wildlife than introduced ones. A native tree (such as oak or hawthorn) might provide food and shelter for 150 insects, birds and other animals, but an introduced one (such as Japanese maple) is often devoid

This summer I’ve been a little preoccupied by cuckoos. They’re not strictly a garden species, but it’s possible to listen to a cuckoo’s distinctive call from the garden if you live in a rural area. And, while we won't get them visiting our bird

in May. Would they have checked for nesting birds?As gardeners we're conditioned to work with wildlife. We avoid tidying borders in winter, trimming hedges in nesting season, and are frequently reminded of the benefits of having a pond. But this message

, and the almost iridescent six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae). Moths are also incredibly important in the garden ecosystem, because they provide food for so many species, including birds, hedgehogs and bats (which eat the adults).The best way to help moths

feat for so late in the spring. To me, they represented the needs of both humans and wildlife - the blossom for bees, the fruit for us and the birds, and the bark and leaves for a myriad of moths and beetles as well as the species that eat them.If all