Trying to get some wildlife into the garden

[clairep]

I'm fairly new to this forum and posted in my intro about the fact that I'm trying to get some wildlife into my little urban garden.

I live in SE London, plenty of parks around with a river through one of them. My garden is 30'x20' and when I moved into the house 3 years ago it was all covered in gravel and decking and no sign of life whatsoever. About 18 months ago I took up all the gravel and it now has a lawn, a veg patch, a buddleia, apple tree, lilac tree (both still pretty small) and various climbers (tonnes of thick ivy which covers the whole of one fence, and then at the back a mix of honeysuckle and jasmine). I put a small pond in last year but next door's flippin' bamboo put an end to that by puncturing the liner in various places. I've now replaced it with a pre-formed liner which should hopefully show a bit more resistance!

There's a border which has mainly ferns and grasses with some Aliums etc planted in between.

So in an effort to get some wildlife (I know it's out there!) I've just put in a tiny bog garden, a pile of logs, a birdfeeding station (located next in one corner where there's lots of twisting honeysuckle/jasmine/lilac branches) and have just got hold of one of those bug box things (the little hollow bamboo cane things) and a roosting pocket.

This has all been in the last couple of weeks. So far no wildlife although there have been a couple of blackbirds spying on the garden from next door (well from the garden behind mine where there is a big silver birch for them to sit in).

Quite sadly I keep having dreams about waking up and the garden being full of birds, bees, frogs etc and then when I wake up in reality and peer out there's my empty little garden. Still, I am not giving up hope and I thought I'd start this thread so that I can update if/when some little critters make an appearance.

I have a cat and two cocker spaniels but alot of the time none of them are in the garden. Any helpful tips appreciated!

[Tursiops2]

Hi clairep
yes, I can give you some advice

Here it is...
Make yourself a cup of tea, sit down, ...and relax!

You've put in a lot of work, done all the right stuff, and you've every expectation of having a garden alive with insects and birds... in a couple of years time

Apart from the fact that this is a quiet time of year for wildlife anyway, wildlife gardens (or any new garden, for that matter) are like good wines or cheeses - they take a while to mature.

Be patient. It shouldn't be long before you see signs of activity, as spring will soon be here, and half the pleasure of wildlife gardening is watching what happens as Nature slowly wakes up to the new opportunities you've created.

Enjoy
T2

[galanthus]

Yep claire, tursiops is quite right. You seem to have done all the right things it's just a matter of waiting for nature to deliver. Frogs are usually still hibernating, altho a few have probably laid spawn by now and until the bulbs and flowers begin to bloom along with the sunshine, insects will be pretty limited.

Birds are probably your best bet for now. Sounds like your blackbird is fairly interested already. I'd go with the make a cuppa and relax option, at least you can get a pile of wildlife manuals together and read about what you will see soon. Alternatively a walk in one of your lovely parks sounds nice

[Hedge Witch]

You sound like me Claire. I dream in wildlife too

I've done some quite weird things to attract them. For example, I noticed that Starlings make a heck of a din when feeding which attracts the attention of other birds like Sparrows. I knew Starlings were around but never went into the back garden, so I put some obvious crumbs and seeds on the front driveway and gave them a feeding station there . They soon found the food on the drive way and it wasn't long before they were used to the new feeder. And sure enough, we are getting a few Sparrows and Finches now. Not many, but they are starting to come, and it's only been three weeks. Now I don't need the food on the floor (the Starlings drop plenty, the Sparrows and smaller birds love that).

Have you put any nest boxes up? Not sure if you are in time to do this, but it's worth doing I think.

Many birds like sunflower hearts more that anything else. Make sure you offer them some if you can. Change the food regularly so it is still appealing, even if this seems wasteful.

And I do agree with the other posters that it is just a matter of time

But, like I said, you sound like me

Oh, and have you tried live mealworms? Big success with the Thrush family, I can tell you

[Dogghound]

The simple advice is attract insects with native plants and the rest will come.........

[clairep]

Well, it's 3 weeks since the birdfeeders went up, 2 weeks since the pond was sorted out and the bog garden prepared, and a few days since a bird box went up.

I've been putting sunflower hearts and soaked mealworms on the feeder and also scattered on the lawn for about 8 or 9 days and, last night when I got home from work I (perhaps a little obsessively ) checked the lawn with a torch and thought that maybe some of the mealworms had disappeared. So this morning, bright and early, I put some more out, and hey presto, half an hour later one of the blackbirds that I've seen flying around at dusk was scratching around on the lawn eating them all up. Hurray! It may not seem like a big thing but this is the first time I've seen a bird actually in the garden for two years, would you believe.

I was out most of today but got home and found that the mealworms on the feeder had also gone - not sure if the blackbird had them as well or possibly something else, but anyway, at least they are working!

[camo]

Hi Claire

Sounds as though you are doing a great job, the ivy will be really good for birds nesting however you have probably got the same problem as me. In making the garden Cocker proof, you may have denied mammals and amphibians from moving in.

I am sure you will attract Birds and insects, however are there any gaps in the fencing or is it a wide enough gauge to allow a free passge.

Roy

[clairep]

Originally Posted by camo

Hi Claire

Sounds as though you are doing a great job, the ivy will be really good for birds nesting however you have probably got the same problem as me. In making the garden Cocker proof, you may have denied mammals and amphibians from moving in.

I am sure you will attract Birds and insects, however are there any gaps in the fencing or is it a wide enough gauge to allow a free passge.

Roy

Are you a fellow Cocker owner, Roy?

Actually there are a few little spaces - the fence at the back of my garden has gaps at each side because behind it there's a delapidated old brick wall, and between the fence and the wall there's lots of old bits of rubble so a good few nooks and crannies. The garden behind mine has a few overgrown areas and 2 or 3 good sized trees.

We did actually have a stag beetle make a brief appearance last summer (although the area I'm in, Lewisham, actually is quite a haven for stag beetles).

[camo]

Hi Claire

Yes I have got a little monkey (cocker) plus 2 Springers and a 3 westies, so our fences have to pretty tight. We do well for birds and squirrels but the Rats,mice and a recent 1st vole have to be nippy to get in and out without being chased.

In your case it looks as though there is a plenty of opportunities for ground dwellers to move around. I would love some Stag beetles and notice you have mentioned a pile of rotting timber which will be good for them.

I saw something on a programme recently which showed you how to make a Bumblebee nest with tubes that are buried in the ground, I thought they were good, easy to achieve and took up very little space. You may also want to consider putting a bat box up they don't cost a lot and will sit there until a Bat eventually comes by.

Good luck

Roy

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by clairep

We did actually have a stag beetle make a brief appearance last summer (although the area I'm in, Lewisham, actually is quite a haven for stag beetles).

Really? You might be interested in this:http://www.greenlivingcentre.org.uk/...tlePyramid.pdf

I built a couple of these last summer.
T2