Giving Spike a Home

In the latest of his blogs, Murray muses on some recent survey results

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“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.” - Alfred Austin

Many of you will have been one of nearly 600,000 people across the UK who took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch in January. This is the world’s biggest wildlife survey and, as well as being immensely enjoyable, provides invaluable data on fluctuations in the health of Britain’s wildlife. For the second year running, participants were asked to record the wildlife they see in their gardens throughout the year from a list of eight non-bird species. Nearly three quarters of participants supplied this information and much of the data has now been processed.

 Locally, the most widely-recorded garden visitor without feathers was, not surprisingly, the grey squirrel, with 60% of Lincolnshire Big Garden Birdwatchers seeing them regularly. This mirrored the situation across the UK. Nationally, hedgehogs were in second place, followed by muntjac deer. Hedgehogs were reported by 80% of Lincolnshire garden watchers and I feel sure that this figure would not have been as high in my native Hertfordshire. Worryingly though, it is thought that hedgehog populations have declined by 30% since 2003 with less than 1,000,000 left in the UK.   

 Photo by Eleanor Bentall

 The information gleaned from the survey reinforces the importance of the nation’s patchwork of gardens for wildlife, and the RSPB is encouraging people to explore their gardens and outdoor spaces to uncover the wonderful array of wildlife that is living there. In 2013 the RSPB was a leading player in the State of Nature report which revealed that many garden favourites that we often take for granted, such as starlings, house sparrows, hedgehogs and butterflies are all in trouble.

 Big Garden Birdwatch is a part of the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign which aims to tackle the housing crisis facing the nation’s wildlife. People are being asked to provide a place for wildlife in their own gardens and outside spaces – whether it’s putting up a nest box, creating a pond, or building a home for hedgehogs. By giving nature a home on our doorsteps, we can all play a part in helping to reverse these declines.

 To find out how you help visit: rspb.org.uk/homes

 Murray Brown

Visitor Experience Intern