When you have a garden, you get to share your world with nature. And nature rewards you richly. Put out some peanuts on the grass and crows and magpies will strut around collecting them. Hang up a feeder and enjoy the antics of tits and finches as they expertly cling on and eat. Look after that oak or ash tree and you might be lucky enough to enjoy the company of a woodpecker.
Spring is coming and those birds will soon be nesting. Those crows and magpies build their nests high in the trees. But the songbirds will be finding a nest site much lower, in a large bush, climber or hedge.
The nesting season extends from March through to August, so it is bad gardening practice to trim hedges that contain nests during this period. In fact, you risk prosecution under the Wildlife and Countryside Act if you disturb nesting birds:
“All birds, their nests and eggs are protected by law and it is thus an offence, with certain exceptions to:
Intentionally kill, injure or take any wild bird.
Intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built”.
So if you have a hedge that needs some attention, call us now. We recognise the priority and will try to fit you in as promptly as possible. We will also check whether you have any active nests. Just to be sure.
If you would like to know more about your garden birds, pay a visit to the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds (RSPB) website. The page helps you to identify birds by walking you through a description. It’s good fun and puts you in closer touch with your winged neighbours. You will be able to tell your friends that “I had a treecreeper on the ash tree the other day” and be sure that you are correct!
Magpie photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash