North of the border

Garden Wildlife in Scotland

General UK wildlife advice misses a few things that matter in a Scottish garden. Bats are protected here under different legislation from the species offences most guides quote, Scotland holds about 80% of the UK's red squirrels, and a few species have their only British stronghold at Scottish sites. Below: the garden wildlife worth gardening for, then what differs in Scotland.

Protected mammals: bats & squirrels

Bat-Friendly GardensBox siting, night-scented planting for the moths bats hunt, water features, and the Scottish law protecting all ten resident species.

Red Squirrels in Your GardenFull legal protection, what is safe and useful to feed them, and why a feeder shared with grey squirrels risks spreading squirrelpox, which is fatal to reds.

Grey-Squirrel-Proofing Bird FeedersWhich feeder designs keep greys out and which are folklore, and why it matters in the parts of Scotland where red squirrels persist.

More garden wildlife

Garden SpidersWhy the autumn spider surge is mating season, not an infestation, and why no UK spider is considered dangerous.

Dragonflies and DamselfliesThey visit any garden with insects to hunt, but breeding needs a properly built pond; which species are realistic to expect here.

Earthworms in Your GardenWhat burrowing, casting and feeding do for soil structure, what harms a population, and how to check yours is healthy.

Lacewings in Your GardenThe aphid-eating larva behind the "aphid lion" nickname, and a rare lacewing found in the UK only at a few Scottish sites.

Rare Scottish ButterfliesScotch Argus, Chequered Skipper and Small Blue: where each is found, how Scotland's hold on them differs, and the limit of what a garden can do for a habitat specialist.

Building a HibernaculumA frost-free winter refuge for frogs, toads, newts, slow worms and lizards, and which of those are realistic in a Scottish garden.

Bird Feeder and Bird Bath HygieneHow trichomonosis and salmonellosis spread through dirty feeders and baths, how to clean them, and Scottish surveillance findings on where salmonellosis clusters.

Weeds Worth Leaving in a Scottish GardenNettles, dandelions, clover and chickweed feed pollinators and birds when little else is flowering, including a Scottish butterfly-trend finding that runs against expectation.

Scotland's own legal protections

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is the best-known UK wildlife law, but two of the animals above are protected in Scotland under rules that differ from the usual summary of it.

Bats. Schedule 5 of the 1981 Act, as it applies to Scotland, lists no bats, so the species offences in section 9 of that Act do not cover them here. Scotland's bats are European protected species under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994. Regulation 39 makes it an offence to deliberately or recklessly capture, injure or kill one, to disturb one in a place it uses for shelter, and to damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place. That last offence carries no "occupied" condition, so a roost is protected while the bats are away. Work that could affect a roost needs advice before it starts.

Red squirrels. Red squirrels are listed in Schedule 5 of the 1981 Act, which makes it an offence to kill or injure them, to damage a place they use for shelter or to disturb them in it. They are also in Schedule 6, which bars killing or taking them by prohibited methods. With most UK red squirrels in Scotland, this protection does most of its practical work here.

Species with a Scottish stronghold

The Chequered Skipper survives in Britain in damp grassland in western Scotland, with about ten core areas, and died out in England in 1976. It has been reintroduced to Rockingham Forest in Northamptonshire from Belgium since 2018, so Scotland holds its only native British population. The Bordered Brown Lacewing is found in the UK only in Scotland, at a few sites that include Holyrood Park in Edinburgh and the coast from Stonehaven to St Cyrus, and it is a different species from the brown lacewings seen in gardens. Among mammals, the mountain hare is native to the Highlands, while the brown hare is thought to have been introduced in the Iron Age.

Timing in a cool spring

A garden pond needs at least part of its surface in full sun so the water warms quickly in spring, which is when dragonflies and damselflies begin to use it. Where springs are slow to warm, a sunny corner is worth choosing. For a hibernaculum, see the hibernaculum guide, which gives the general late-summer to early-autumn build window.

Looking for the insects that do a garden's pest control, such as ladybirds, hoverflies, ground beetles and parasitoid wasps? See Beneficial Wildlife in Scottish Gardens.

Sources

Show the 10 sources

Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994, Regulation 39: Bats as European protected species in Scotland; the offences of killing or injuring, disturbing an animal in a place it uses for shelter, and damaging or destroying a breeding site or resting place
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Schedule 5: Schedule 5 as it applies to Scotland lists no bats, and lists the red squirrel
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Section 9: Red squirrel protections in Scotland: killing and injury, and damaging a place used for shelter or disturbing the animal in it
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Schedule 6: Red squirrel listed among animals that may not be killed or taken by prohibited methods
Forestry and Land Scotland: Conserving Scotland’s red squirrels: Scotland holding about 80% of the UK's red squirrels; squirrelpox carried by grey squirrels and fatal to reds
Butterfly Conservation: Chequered Skipper: Restricted to damp grassland in western Scotland with about ten core areas; died out in England in 1976; reintroduced from continental Europe
Butterfly Conservation: Extinct butterfly brought back to England from Belgium: Chequered skipper reintroduction to Rockingham Forest, begun in 2018, using Belgian butterflies
Buglife: Bordered Brown Lacewing: Found in the UK only in Scotland, at sites including Holyrood Park and the coast from Stonehaven to St Cyrus
Scottish Wildlife Trust: Mountain hare: Mountain hare as the native hare in Britain; the brown hare thought to have been introduced in the Iron Age
RHS: Wildlife ponds, how to make them: At least part of a pond in full sun so the water warms quickly in spring; stems for dragonfly and damselfly larvae to climb