2nd July 2008

Wildlife Focus

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Now we're spending more time outdoors, you may be noticing more of the wildlife in your garden. Read on for your chance to win a ladybird tower and for tips on attracting and dealing with wildlife in the garden.

Leave Fledglings Alone

If you enjoyed the BBC's recent SpringWatch programmes, you'll be on the look out for fledglings flying the nest, but the RSPCA has some important advice on what to do if you find one that looks abandoned.

Each year the RSPCA's four wildlife centres receive about 4,500 fledglings during the peak months of April to August, which accounts for about a third of the animals they care for. The average stay for these birds is about 50 days, which puts a pressure on staff as well as space.

"At this time of year we get thousands of fledglings brought in by members of the public who see them on the ground, not able to fly, and assume they have been abandoned. But very often the mother is nearby and is still feeding them," said Tim Thomas.

"The best thing to do is to leave them alone but watch from a distance and call the RSPCA only if you're sure they're in trouble. Although RSPCA centre staff look after them as best they can, and on average release more than 70 per cent, it's always far better if they are looked after by their parents."

What to do if you see a fledgling on the ground:

• Fledglings of garden birds usually leave the nest just over two weeks after hatching - shortly before they can fly well. They will have grown all or most of their feathers, are very mobile and are able to reach low branches. They are normally being fed by their parents who are rarely far away. If in doubt, don't touch!
• Leave the bird and return in an hour or so.
• Young animals in immediate danger from traffic or a predator should be placed out of harm a short distance away.
• Don't try to return a fledgling to its nest as you may disturb other young birds.
• If you have a good reason to believe that a bird is orphaned - for example if you have seen both of its parents killed by a car - or it is clearly sick, put it in a dark, warm box and take it to your nearest vet or RSPCA centre.
• If you find an unfeathered bird that has fallen out of its nest this should also be brought into care immediately.

Attract Insects And Birds

The War On Slugs And Snails

Although many of us don't like the idea of creepy crawlies, some of them are actually a great help to the gardener, if you just know who eats who. If you have pets you won't want to be spraying pesticides which might harm them, but equally you don't want your newly emerging vegetables or roses to be eaten away by slugs or aphids.

The green alternative is to attract insects and birds that will feed on the predators.

Slugs and snails are one of the worst pests in the garden. They can consume twice their own body weight every day, so they're just eating machines which aren't programmed to stop. Because slugs are nocturnal you may think you don't have much of a problem during the day, but if you go out at dusk with a torch you'll find them all over your prize plants and vegetables. Another issue is that as hermaphrodites, every individual can lay eggs, so even if you think you've eradicated an outbreak, they quickly come back.

The best way to eradicate slugs and snails is to find something that likes to eat them. This should keep the population under control and does away with the need for you to dispose of the unwanted traitors. Many birds, hedgehogs and frogs will enjoy a tasty meal of slug or snail, so if you can, installing a pond or a bird table or bird bath on which you can scatter a few juicy morsels picked off the cabbages, will help with your problem.

Anti-Aphid Attack

Another common gardener's gripe is that flies or aphids are attacking plants ñ particularly roses. Rather than spraying them, the introduction of a ladybird population is a great alternative. Ladybirds are not only pretty little beetles, but their larvae eat flies and aphids voraciously and the adults live for about a year, consuming around 5,000 aphids during that time. To attract them, don't use pesticides in your garden, and provide them with a nest site. You can either buy purpose-built ladybird boxes or simply deadhead old plants, leaving preferably hollow stems, in which the ladybirds can hibernate over the winter.

Competition Time

Our friends at www.biggreensmile.com have kindly offered a ladybird tower to one of our readers. To win, simply email the editor with your name and postal address and mention Big Green Smile before 16th July 2008.

The website www.biggreensmile.com has lots of accessories for attracting wildlife and living a greener life. Whether you want a hedgehog house, bird feeders or nesting boxes or gadgets for storing and reusing rainwater, it's worth taking a look.

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