AS I write this we are coming to the end of what may prove to be one of the wettest May’s on record, following one of the coldest and driest April’s since records began and one of the warmest ever March periods. But we better get used to it-our climate is shifting fast and with it our ability to predict what happens next.

Last week I was working at a site in the Highlands of Scotland and was amazed to find that daffodils in some places were still not fully out on May 15th. I saw my first daffodil this year on January 10th. It must be unprecedented to start a year with spring flowers and still find they are coming out in some places a full five months later.

The big problem with a rapidly changing climate is that whilst we to an extent can adapt, nature does not find it so easy. Let’s take an example from our Hampshire gardens ….the humble blue tit. The very mild late winter and early spring meant blue tit started to breed in late January thinking spring had come. A few weeks later we were plunged into a short later winter cold snap-killing any young birds that had emerged early. Then it was back in to spring in March, followed by one of the coldest Aprils ever. Net result was a very confused blue tit population-but worse still a blue tit population with no reliable source of food.

Most of Hampshire’s breeding birds have timed their nesting season with the periods when the most food for the hungry young birds are available. This year the cold spells have knocked out the food supply and many young birds are in trouble.

With our nature under pressure like never before there are many things, we can do in our gardens to help. As the days get warmer and night frosts disappear, we can give Hampshire’s wildlife a vital helping hand to ensure young birds get the best possible chance of survival.

1) Make it a no mow June.

By letting your grass grow, you also make it more likely for wildflowers to grow. Creating space for pollinating insects and a place for insects to hide-you are also creating a vital food source for feeding birds. You do not need to let your whole lawn grow-even a section of it will still be good for nature.

2) Keep feeding the birds.

Whatever you have heard about not feeding the birds, leaving your feeders full through the spring and summer will help to supplement natural food supply when there is not much around. Buy multiple feeders to maximise the range of birds you can feed. Fat balls for the starlings, seed mix for sparrows and tits, fruit for thrushes and nyger seed for finches.

3) Put up nesting boxes.

There is still need for artificial nest boxes for tits, swifts, martins, sparrows, robins and flycatchers…… with sudden strong wind and heavy rain events, natural nests will often collapse when it gets to wet or windy and young birds can get extremely cold. Providing a roof and a dry nesting space out of the cold and rain will make the young birds more likely to survive.

If you combine a no mow area, feeding and nest boxes you will be giving birds the best possible chance of surviving the uncertainties of spring in a climate change world.