WITH the world's largest garden wildlife survey fast approaching, Dorset resident are being urged to start preparing their gardens to encourage birds and other wildlife.

The 37th RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch takes place over the weekend of January 30 and 31 2016.

Last year more than 8.5million birds were spotted by more than half-a-million people. In Dorset the most commonly counted species were house sparrow, blackbird, starling, blue tit, wood pigeon, robin, chaffinch, great tit, goldfinch and magpie.

The birdwatch also asks people to record other garden wildlife including hedgehogs, foxes, stoats and squirrels. Many once common species are declining, hedgehog numbers have dropped by more than 50per cent in the last 50 years.

Here are nine things you can do now to prepare for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

1. Help fatten up the birds

As temperatures begin to drop the natural food available becomes scarcer and birds visit gardens in search of sustenance. They need calorie-rich food such as peanuts, sunflower hearts, suet balls, finely chopped bacon rind and even a little bit of grated cheese.

2. Keep their food dry

Invest in quality feeders and roofed bird tables, which will keep food dry and stop it going off. Place the feeders out in the open and high enough so they are out of reach of ground predators like cats. If you don’t get any visitors, try a different location.

3. Feed the hedgehogs

Hedgehogs appreciate a bowl of water and a dish of cat/dog food. When the food is no longer being consumed, stop putting it out. 

4. But don't give them bread...

Never feed hedgehogs milk or bread. They can’t digest them, so it upsets their stomachs.

5. Buy a hedgehog a home

A hogitat is a sturdy, lightweight and waterproof shelter for hedgehogs. They are available from the RSPB online shop and garden centres.

6. Help stop birds flying into windows

Draw a silhouette of a bird and tape it to a window, door or conservatory, particularly where there's a clear view through the building from front to back. Birds can mistake this as a clear path and try to fly through.

7. Get digging

By adding a shallow ditch (or rill), you can create a wider variety of homes for nature. It will mimic natural undulations in our countryside, and give hedgehogs and reptiles a lush byway to travel along, and song thrushes a perfect hunting ground. About 30cm deep is good, but make sure the sides are gently sloping (45 degrees is fine) so that creatures can get in and out.

8. Think like a hedgehog

If you were a hedgehog, how easy would it be to make your way around the garden and in and out of it? Is the way blocked by fences and walls that go down to ground level? Cut an archway through a wooden fence no more than 15cm wide x 12cm high to help them on their way. 

9. Build a sparrow box

House sparrows are in trouble – overall populations have halved because there are fewer places for them to live and feed. These birds like to nest in colonies, so you can help by providing a nestbox (or several), high-up in trees or on houses.  See how to build a box here

To take part in the RSPB'S Big Garden Birdwatch, pick up a leaflet from a local reserve (available after Christmas), or go to the RSPB website. You need to watch your garden for an hour during the birdwatch weekend and then submit your results.