What garden wildlife is doing now

How to help wildlife in your garden

• Five winter wildlife gardening jobs
• 10 New Year's resolutions for wildlife
• How to build a stumpery for insects
• Garden habits you need to break to help wildlife

Why not install a wildlife camera to see which creatures are visiting your garden when you're not around? Check out our round of the best wildlife cameras.

Foxes are breeding

Foxes are breeding this month. Listen out for the female’s blood-curdling scream and the male’s ‘hup-hup-hup’ response. Up to five cubs will be born in March.

Look out for unusual birds

You may spot less common birds on your feeders, especially in bad weather. The siskin is yellow-green with a forked tail and long bill. The male has a black crown, yellow bib and black and yellow wing feathers, while the female is paler green, streaked with black. Other birds to look for include redpolls and brambling.

At this time of year birds are more likely to visit gardens in search of much-needed food and shelter, so by providing a selection of tasty treats, you’re not only doing your bit to sustain local bird life but encouraging birds into your patch too. Find out what to feed the birds all year round, and we've also put together shopping guides to nutritious feeds, along with our pick of the best bird feeders, bird tables and bird baths.

Spot insects on mild days

On mild days you may spot flies, such as the bluebottle, basking in the sun, while midges will gather above bodies of water, like ponds.

Badgers are looking for food

In rural areas, you may spot badgers wandering around looking for food. They don’t hibernate although they do spend more time in their setts at this time of year. They eat earthworms, amphibians, insects, bulbs, seeds and berries.

Birdsong is returning

Now the days are getting longer, birdsong is returning. You’ll have heard the watery call of the robin throughout winter, along with the ‘tee-cher tee-cher’ of the great tit on mild days. Towards the end of the month they may be joined by the loud burst of song from the wren and, occasionally, the dunnock, which has a long and squeaky warble.

• The power of birdsong with David Lindo - Podcast

Nesting boxes provide the perfect habitat for our British garden birds, so installing them will help encourage feathered friends into your garden. Different birds have different needs, so if you’re looking to introduce birds to your garden this way, it’s a good idea to have a range of bird nesting boxes. You can also install a bird box camera to follow their journey as they raise a family.