Essential jobs in the garden this January

MANY SPECIES of birds are pairing up and choosing nest sites earlier these days. Some are ready to lay eggs in early February. You can help.

Finish any hedge trimming, bush shaping and branch lopping by the end of January, and leave some smaller, non-prickly, pieces out on a garden seat or table for nest building.

If you are thinking of putting up a bird box, now is the time. Choose a plain, wooden box (the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds sells a wide selection) and consider sensible sites. It needs to face north or east to avoid over heating and too much wet. It must NOT have a perching rod for magpies to stand on whilst extracting the chicks (if you had one like this for Christmas, cut off the perch). Boxes with holes for tit species need to be at least 2 metres off the ground, with a clear flight path to the nest hole. Robins like an open box, nearer the ground, hidden within a hedge or ivy-covered wall or behind a wood pile or pots. Nest boxes should always be a minimum 3 metres away from any bird feeder, as squirrels or rats will explore the adjacent area.

It’s not just birds nest building or looking for shelter in mid-winter. In Reading, the buff-tailed bumblebee produces three broods a year, rather than the usual two. Huge queen bees are out looking for food and potential nest sites on milder January days. An old mouse hole is perfect, but all holes are inspected. A perfect use for cracked or broken clay flowerpots is to fill them with dried moss or grass (dry nesting material in a shed first) and then ‘plant’ the pot upside down in a warm and dry spot: just underneath a south or east facing hedge, or a shrub which comes down to ground level, such as Jasmine nudiflorum. Plant at an angle so the hole faces outwards and, if the soil is amenable, bury the whole pot beneath ground level with a small piece of garden hose into the hole as an entrance.

Finally, plant an extra food source for bees at this time of year. Mahonias are ideal wildlife plants, despite their very prickly leaves,. These come in all shapes and sizes, with winter flowers which are perfect for bees and early summer fruits for blackbirds.