As we are still getting cold nights and frosty mornings don’t forget to continue putting out food and water for the wild birds – check daily and clean feeders regularly. Make sure that your bird nest-boxes are all put in place ready to go, anxious sparrows have already been checking out the 2016 accommodation in my garden. The early morning and evenings now ring out with the drumming of woodpeckers. Unlike other songbirds, woodpeckers do not have a distinctive song as part of their vocabulary. Instead, drumming is the way they communicate, and woodpeckers will drum either to attract a mate or advertise a territory. When a woodpecker drums on a resonant object, the resulting sound can be heard for great distances. Other woodpeckers will recognize the sound by its pattern and tempo, and birds of the same species can be attracted to potential mates through drumming. When you get into the garden, remember before turning the compost heap to check for frogs, toads and other animals. My neighbour has reported a mass of frogspawn in their pond, so guess the frogs have declared that Spring has arrived! We are pleased to have BBOWT as one of our chosen charities this year and they have some very useful information on wildlife friendly gardening. It’s amazing how little you need to do to attract wildlife to your garden, take a look: BBOWT