June is another busy month for garden wildlife. Birds are foraging for caterpillars to feed their chicks, while bees, moths, butterflies and other pollinators are making the most of flowering plants and sunshine. At night, hedgehogs scour our borders for caterpillars and beetles for their young back in the nest. Meanwhile, this year's amphibians will be leaving garden ponds for the first time, seeking cool, damp shelter.

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More on gardening for wildlife:

Browse our list of wildlife gardening jobs for June, below.


Keep the bird bath topped up

Garden wildlife jobs for June
Wildlife gardening jobs - keep your bird bath topped up

Keeping the bird bath topped up means birds can drink and bathe in dry weather. With clean feathers, birds are better able to regulate their body temperatures and fly from predators. Keep above ground if cats are around.


Create a cool, damp spot for amphibians

Making a log pile
Wildlife gardening jobs - make a log pile for amphibians

Create a cool, damp spot for amphibians to take shelter by making a log pile in a shady corner. Half bury the bottom layer of logs and fill nooks and crannies with fallen leaves and moss.


Avoid deadheading roses

Rosehips
Wildlife gardening jobs - avoid deadheading roses

Avoid deadheading all spent roses to let some develop hips, which will feed birds and small mammals in winter. Plant wildlife-friendly roses such as Rosa rubiginosa and dog rose (Rosa canina), and browse our list of the best roses for hips.


Grow bee-friendly plants

Wildlife gardening - plant foxgloves for pollinators
Wildlife gardening jobs - grow bee-friendly plants

Grow bee-friendly plants such as foxglove and viper's bugloss, to provide essential nectar and pollen. Find out how to make your garden bee-friendly in summer.

Gardeners' World Offer: Wildlife gardening offers

No matter the size of your garden, there's always something you can do to improve the habitat for wildlife. Explore our range of wildlife-friendly offers to help the fauna in your garden.

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Bee on monarda flower. Getty Images

Leave a few lawn weeds

Mowing the lawn
Wildlife gardening jobs - leave areas of lawn to grow long

When mowing the lawn, leave a section to allow 'weeds' such as daisies and dandelions to flower - an easy source of nectar and pollen during the summer. If you leave the grass to grow long, some species of butterfly and moth may start breeding here, while species such as green shield bug may take shelter. You may even attract grasshoppers.


Leave mud for nesting house martins

Wildlife gardening - leave mud for nesting house martins in dry weather
Wildlife gardening jobs - leave mud for nesting house martins
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In dry summers, house martins - which make their nests using mud - struggle to build and repair their nests. By leaving out a dish of mud (simply soil with added water), you can give them a helping hand. Keep the dish topped up with a fresh supply of mud for several weeks over summer, or until it rains.


What to do if you find a baby bird

If you find a baby bird sitting beneath a hedge or other part of the garden, leave it. Parent birds often leave their fledglings in a safe place, where they can continue feeding them. It's highly likely the bird will be waiting to receive food from a parent and your presence might prevent it from returning. If it's a poorly feathered or naked chick, it has a slim chance of survival and might have been rejected by the parents.

Blue tit. Photo: Getty Images.
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