Hibernation season is here but while the nation’s wildlife beds down for the winter, nature lovers should not rest.
Conservationist Chris Packham says this cold season is a crucial time of year for Britain’s animals, who need our help to get through it.
“There’s never a dead time for wildlife because wildlife always has to be on the go,” the BBC Springwatch presenter says. “Everything is moving through a cycle and in winter there’s an enormous amount of activity.
“Some species do all their breeding in winter, like certain moths and fish. Winter is actually a time of richness and life.”
Chris, 60, who first appeared on TV fronting CBBC’s The Really Wild Show 35 years ago, says it is a misconception that the natural world shuts up shop for winter – and that comes from the prevalence of broadleaf trees. “When we see them looking stark and bare, we think they’re lifeless, but they are replenishing,” he says.
“If you look at most trees once the leaves come off, they have buds on them for next spring.”
Here, Chris reveals how you can help some of the most common hibernating animals survive – and thrive – this winter.
Get gardening
Winter is the perfect time of year to take stock of your garden and prepare for the coming 12 months.
Chris says: “You can see it more clearly as it largely dies back. It’s a time for making decisions, because if you wait until spring, it’ll be too late.
“Take a look at your garden in the winter and think, ‘What can I do for it in terms of nature?’ It’s a good time to put a pond in, because if you wait until spring it’s too late for the frogs and newts to arrive.”
The key to becoming a good gardener is to remain active throughout winter.
“It’s the best time to plant trees and shrubs,” Chris says.
“If you plant them when they have leaves on and there’s a drought, and you don’t water them, they’ll die.
“So put them in when there’s no leaves in the winter and they will prosper in spring.”
What is hibernation?
Hibernation is a state where animals slow down their metabolism to use as little energy as possible over the winter, when food is scarce.
Their heart rate drops, as does their breathing, and they survive on fat stores built up over the summer.
It’s called hibernation rather than sleep because the brain cycles the animals go through are different.
It’s more of an extreme slowing down but only three British mammals truly hibernate – bats, hedgehogs and dormice. Birds have either adapted to the season or migrate, while reptiles go into a state called brumation.
Box clever for bats
Bats are unfairly seen as scary but the world’s only flying mammals make an important contribution to our environment. Chris recommends putting up bat boxes to protect them during the winter months – although they won’t acquire residents until next year.
“Most bat boxes will be occupied in the summer when you’ve either got the males roosting or you’ve got the maternity roost for females,” he says.
“In winter, bats want stable temperatures, humidity and air flow, and they can’t get that in a bat box, so they go to hollow trees, caves and concrete buildings.
“But if you put boxes up in spring, it’s too late, because bats go on little foraging flights looking for places when they wake up.
“The more you put up, the greater likelihood any one of them being used is. They like to have a network of different boxes in the same place.”
Feed the birds
All garden birds need our help in winter and if you look after them well, you can expect plenty of visitors come the spring.
Chris says: “Put up nest boxes. By February, things like blue tits are looking around, thinking, ‘Are there any holes for me to nest in?’
“They don’t lay their eggs until April but by that stage they’ve figured it out. If they haven’t found a nest box in your garden, they will go next door.”
Feeders will also help to ensure your resident birds get the nutrients they need – but you have to pay them some attention.
“The key thing is to keep them clean,” Chris says. “A number of diseases are sweeping through our finch population. They are generally transmitted by saliva, so it’s the area underneath the feeder you need to keep clean, and the feeder itself.
“Putting water out is equally important because birds need to bathe and drink.”
Build borders
Wooden fences might be easier to erect than hedges but investing in a natural border for your garden will pay dividends for the resident wildlife.
“Hedges are better than wood – they’re going to support more life,” says Chris.
“They take a while to grow and need a lot more maintenance than a fence, so you’ve got to be thinking about whether you are going to be able to make that investment, look after it, trim it and shape it.
“But if you put a fence up instead, it’s a good place to hang bird feeders and bird boxes, as long as cats can’t get to them.
“Also, make sure you cut a hole in the bottom of the fence for hedgehogs to get through – or a bigger hole to help the local foxes and badgers.”
Give a hog a home
Hedgehogs are one of our most-loved native mammals but, tragically, their numbers have halved since 2000.
Their hibernation season is currently under way but Chris says you should not be alarmed if you see one of these spiky little creatures awake.
“It’s not a catastrophe if you see a hedgehog in winter,” he says. “They don’t go to sleep in October and wake up in March – they will wake up in milder conditions, go out and scramble around to find food.
“If they’re tiny, then the likelihood is they might be in trouble and you should think about taking them to a wildlife hospital for safety.
“But if you find a bigger animal, the likelihood is that they will move from one hibernation site, come out and have a little forage, then they might go back to it or go to another one.”
Hedgehogs need ambulances too
Hedgehog rescuer Ellen Cole has nursed 800 of the animals back to health since finding one on her street five years ago. The animal lover had never seen a real hedgehog until she discovered one covered in burns and unable to see in 2016.
“I wrapped it in a blanket and took it to the vet, who suspected it had been accidentally poisoned by de-icer that had fallen in a puddle,” says Ellen, 34.
“Sadly, it had to be put down. But it sparked my interest in how I could help, especially when I found out numbers were declining.”
Ellen, from York, now juggles working at her own marketing agency with fostering hedgehogs in need from vets, the RSPCA, Hedgehog Emergency Rescue in Bingley and the Hedgehoggery in Shipley. She also has a network of 600 volunteers across Yorkshire who act as ambulance drivers for hedgehogs.
“People who find one don’t often have the means to get them to an expert so this ensures they can be cared for,” she says. “We’ve transported around 1,000 hedgehogs so far.”
Next year, Ellen hopes to start a charitable organisation providing hedgehog education to the public.
She also recommends creating a “hedgehog highway” in your garden and cleaning out bird feeders once a week. “There are so many hazards for hedgehogs that people are unaware of and would make a big difference if they made a few changes,” she says.
■ Help Ellen by liking the Yorkshire Hedgehog Volunteers page on
Facebook.
