bottom of the back plate to take the nails or screws needed to fix the bat box to a tree or building. Cut a groove at the top edge of the back board for the roof to slot into.
FIXING THE BOX
The box can be nailed onto a wooden post or tree, using the holes drilled earlier. If attaching to brickwork, use rawlplugs and screws.
AFTERCARE
Once in situ, leave the box undisturbed. A special licence is required to disturb or handle bats. If you need advice on any aspect of bat behaviour contact the Bat Conservation Trust www.bats.org.uk. It is also possible to buy ready-made bat boxes from various suppliers — your local wildlife group should be able to recommend suitable types.
BAT SPECIES
COMMONLY SEEN IN GARDENS AND AROUND HOUSES: Brown long-eared Daubenton’s (especially near ponds and canals) Natterer’s Noctule Pipistrelle Serotine (especially in the south of England)
RARELY SEEN: Barbastelle Bechstein’s Brandt’s Greater and lesser horseshoe Grey long-eared Leisler’s Whiskered
Extinction In 1990 the Greater mouse-eared bat was officially declared extinct — the first mammal to become extinct in the British isles for 250 years. Although there have been reports of this bat making a return to the South of England, the plight of many bats continues to be precarious.
THE LAW AND BATS Bats and their roosts are protected by law and it is an offence to disturb roosting bats. If you have bats in your roof space, cellar or any part of your property, you should contact the Bat conservation trust.
FEBRUARY
Typically, this is a wet and bitterly cold month with more than its fair share of snow and ice. Fortunately, the weather does not make all wildlife inactive and in the early morning it is quite possible to see fox and badger tracks, made during the previous night, as they find mates and make preparations for the birth of their cubs.
Resident birds will also be gearing up for the breeding season. An early morning chorus of robins, blackbirds and thrushes signals the increasing interest males and females are taking in one another as they noisily advertise for mates. In a small garden it is unusual to have more than one pair of any particular species nesting, simply because the males will defend their territory against incomers of the same species. Even in mild weather birds are still reliant on supplementary food from the bird table, particularly the females who are building up their strength for breeding. Frogs and toads are beginning to emerge from hibernation, although if the weather is extremely cold they will stay out of sight for another month. Butterflies, particularly brimstones and commas, may be stirred into life by a spell of weak sunshine. This is the month that catkins begin to appear on the branches of hazel and alder trees. Hazel catkins are known colloquially as ‘lambs’ tails’, making a connection in our minds between the first sight of these flowers and the beginning of a new seasonal cycle. Beneath the trees, celandines, sweet violets, spring crocus and snowdrops are making a carpet of scent and colour, offering sustenance to waking insects and setting the scene for spring.
tasks
FOR THE
month
MOVING TREES AND SHRUBS
This is the last month for lifting and replanting shrubs or trees which may be in the wrong position. By spring, nest building will be underway, and moving established plants can be very disruptive. If the ground is too hard or the weather bad, leave until autumn.
CHECKLIST
FEEDING BIRDS
Continue putting out food and water on the bird table, particularly during cold spells. This is also a good month to put up nesting boxes that garden birds will use during the spring.
PRUNING BUDDLEIA
Buddleia davidii bushes may be pruned this month. Strictly speaking, buddleia does not need to be pruned — witness the hundreds of thousands of garden escapees growing untended on urban wasteland. However, bushes which have outgrown their space or produced a poor show of flowers will benefit, producing strong new stems and, more importantly, large clusters of flowers for the butterflies.
