January is often the coldest month of the year and a time when natural food sources for garden wildlife are in short supply.

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Rather than hibernate over winter, birds remain active and will continue to visit gardens in search of food.

More wildlife gardening content:

Help your garden wildlife survive the winter, with the help of our jobs checklist for January.

Keen to spot which other animals are visiting your garden? Why not check out our roundup of the best wildlife cameras.


Keep bird feeders topped up

January wildlife gardening jobs - keep bird feeders topped up

Keep bird feeders and bird tables full of calorie-rich food such as peanuts, sunflower hearts and suet products. Put seed mix, chopped apples and grated cheese on ground-feeding stations for ground feeders like robins, thrushes and blackbirds.


Check bird boxes

January wildlife gardening jobs - check bird boxes

Check bird boxes to make sure they're still safely fixed to the fence or wall and haven't rotted. Remove any nesting material from previous years. Replace old or damaged boxes with new ones. You can also get a closer look inside the bird boxes in your garden with a bird box camera - we've also put together a helpful guide on how to install a bird box camera.


Recycle your Christmas tree

January wildlife gardening jobs - recycle your Christmas tree

Recycle your Christmas tree by removing branches and bundling them together to make wildlife habitats to tuck at the back of the border. You can also chop up the trunk and add the pieces to your log pile.


Look out for bees when digging

January wildlife gardening jobs - look out for bees when digging
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If you accidentally unearth a queen bee while digging, don't rebury her. Gently put her somewhere cold and dry where she can continue hibernating and offer her a sugar solution of equal parts sugar and water in a bottle top or something similar. This will boost her energy to provide a new hibernation site and she may even establish an early nest.

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