This is the trickiest month for garden birds, as natural sources of food, such as berries and seeds, have all but dried up, and they need to get into shape for breeding in a few weeks’ time. That said, you may spot tits inspecting your bird boxes and robins displaying courtship behaviour, whereby the female lowers her wings and quivers, and the male feeds her. Plant bareroot berrying shrubs and trees, such as rowan and hawthorn, to add to their food stores for next year.
If it’s mild, hedgehogs may emerge from hibernation, but natural sources of their food – beetles and caterpillars – will also be in short supply. Leave out a dish of water and meat-based cat or dog food such as kitten biscuits, to boost them after…