How to make a shrub garden for wildlife
Woody shrubs and climbers provide food for wildlife, including berries, fruits, seeds, nuts leaves and nectar-rich flowers. So why not plant a shrub garden and see who comes to visit?
Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Woody shrubs and climbers provide food for wildlife, including berries, fruits, seeds, nuts leaves and nectar-rich flowers. So why not plant a shrub garden and see who comes to visit?
An attractive, olive-green bird, the greenfinch regularly visits birdtables and feeders in gardens. Look for a bright flash of yellow on its wings as it flies.
The jackdaw is a small, black-capped crow of woodlands, parks, towns and coast. It is a well-known thief, stealing other birds' eggs and breaking into garden feeders.
Meadows of seagrass spread across the seabed, their dense green leaves sheltering a wealth of wildlife including our two native species of seahorse.
An attractive, green-and-yellow bird, the siskin regularly visits birdtables and feeders in gardens. Look for the bright yellow barring on its black wings, and the black crown of the males.
The stiff, spiky and upright leaves and brown flowers of hard rush are a familiar sight of wetlands, riversides, dune slacks and marshes across England and Wales.
Pineappleweed is an introduced species that has become a widespread 'weed' of disturbed ground, such as pavements and roadsides and gardens. It has feathery leaves and yellow flower…
A summer visitor, the willow warbler can be seen in woodland, parks and gardens across the UK. It arrives here in April and leaves for southern Africa in September.
The striking red crown, golden back, and bright yellow wings of the goldfinch make it one of our prettiest garden birds. It happily visits birdtables and feeders across the UK.
Gary is the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS) Project Manager for Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. He is injecting badgers to protect them against bovine tuberculosis (bTB) to help curb the…