Birdcare and Wildlife - Russells Garden Centre - The Coastal Garden Company - Birdham

Telephone

Garden centre: 01243 512525
Restaurant: 01243 511156
Fax: 01243 512367

Opening Hours

Monday to Saturday - 8.30 - 5.30
Sunday - Closed

Come See Us

Main Rd
Birdham
Chichester
West Sussex
PO20 7BY
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Free Parking
Wheelchair Access

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Home | Wildlife and birdcare advice | Birdcare and Wildlife

Wildlife and Birdcare

As a business we care about our environment, our wildlife and birdcare department offers a wide range of products to encourage customers to make a positive impact on local biodiversity.

Food, housing and care items available for birds, bats, frogs squirrels, hedgehogs, bees butterflies, ducks, swans and stag beetles!

We actively support Brent Lodge which is a bird and wildlife hospital. The trust, founded in 1978, is located near to Chichester. They are dedicated to the treatment, rehabilitation and release of injured wild birds and small mammals. Brent Lodge is a registered charity which depends entirely upon voluntary help and donations. We have a donation box in store at Russells.

For donations or advice about injured animals call 01243 641672

Tips and advice for wildlife gardening

A good wildlife garden is more than just a corner of a garden left to go wild.

Provide as many habitats as possible, but avoid cramming too much in and focus on what can be done well in the space you have. A lawn, trees and shrubs, flowers and water are key habitats.

Look to create smaller microhabitats within these. Here are a few examples:

Long grass provides habitat for egg laying and over wintering of caterpillars and leather jackets. Blackbirds and starlings search for leather jackets (cranefly grubs) in short grass. Different species of tree and shrub and flowering plants provide nectar and other food sources through the year.

A water feature with different depths is great for wildlife. Shallow areas are used by bathing and drinking birds, emerging dragonflies and somewhere for amphibians to lay eggs. Deeper areas help aquatic insects survive cold spells and are good places to watch newts swimming.

Wildlife require two fundamental things:

somewhere safe to breed and shelter and somewhere to forage throughout the year.

Grow climbers against walls to provide shelter and roosting and breeding sites for birds.

A thick, well-developed, thorny shrub bed or hedge provides nest sites and shelter for wildlife.

A bat box provides roosting sites for bats, a pile of leaves may be used by a hibernating hedgehog and a bird box provides somewhere for birds to raise their broods. Leave tidying of borders and shrubs until late winter or early spring to provide shelter for insects through winter.

Brimstone butterflies breed on buckthorn bushes.

Short lengths of drinking straws, hollow canes or plant stems, tied in bundles are excellent nesting sites for beneficial lacewings and ladybirds.

Dead wood is good for beetles and other specialist beneficial insects, fungi and mosses. Somewhere to forage and feed

Creating a range of habitat niches provides different areas and opportunities for wildlife to feed at different times of year.

Early and late flowering plants provide nectar for insects at critical times - just after emergence or prior to hibernation. Tidy borders and cut shrubs in late winter and early spring to help retain seeds and fruit for birds and small mammals throughout winter. Ivy is a late source of autumn nectar for insects and late winter fruit for birds.

Fruiting bushes are a good source of food for birds and mammals during the autumn and part of the winter.

Annual plants that produce many seeds in late summer are a good source of seed for birds through autumn into winter. Many baby birds need insects - a good source of protein - if they are to grow strong and healthy and survive the winter. A variety of garden plants encourages these insects.

Many of our actions have an impact on wildlife beyond our gardens. Consider this when choosing or using your materials when creating your wildlife garden. Save rainwater for watering your garden and only top up your pond when necessary. Avoid using peat and use alternative forms of compost, peat extraction destroys vital wildlife habitats.

Remember top up your bird feeders all year round

Russells Garden Centre