What garden wildlife is doing now
May is the most exciting month for garden wildlife. Many bird species are feeding chicks in the nest or fledglings on the lawn. Bumblebees are starting to increase in number, and are joined by mining bees such as the tawny mining bee, which nests in the ground, and the red mason bee, which uses bee hotels. At night, hedgehogs are starting to look for mates – you may hear the tell-tale snuffles as males try to woo females at night.
How to help wildlife in your garden
Great tits and blue tits are feeding their young
Great tits and blue tits are busy feeding their young, in May. One pair can have around 10 chicks in the nest, each of which needs to eat around 100 caterpillars per day, for the first three weeks of its life. If you see the birds frantically searching among your herbaceous plants and trees, it’s likely they’re looking for caterpillars. Give them a helping hand by ensuring plants are well watered so the caterpillars have enough to eat, and let them remain on your plants, rather than picking them off. Leave food out for adult birds to refuel quickly while they search for natural food to feed their young. Avoid putting out peanuts at this time of year, as there's a small risk of baby birds choking on large chunks of nut.
Red mason bees are building nests
May is the key time when red mason bees nest in bee hotels. After mating, the female gathers mud to line her nest cell, and then gathers pollen and nectar to make a ‘cake’ on to which she lays an egg. She seals the cell and starts another, collecting more pollen and nectar and laying an egg. After two-three weeks she will have laid up to 40 eggs, each one in an individual mud cell. Over summer the eggs hatch into grubs which eat the pollen and nectar cake, and then metamorphose into adult bees. They spend winter in their cocoons within the bee hotel and emerge the following year to mate and lay eggs of their own.
Slow worms are mating
Slow worms are starting to mate. Usually these cold-blooded reptiles spend their time in warm, sheltered spots such as compost heaps or beneath bespoke ‘reptile tins’ – which you can make by laying a piece of slate or corrugated iron over grass to create a sheltered habitat where they can warm up. But this month, they can be seen moving between territories, in search of a mate. The females remain ‘gravid’ (with eggs) throughout summer and then ‘give birth’ to live young from mid-to late August. Compost bins are a popular choice for breeding, so take care when turning yours.