MOST of our wildlife is hard to see as it is either hiding in the bushes, burrowing underground or roving around at night.

Birds fortunately can be seen in our gardens at most times of the day. This is a feast for the eyes and gives us that magical touch of nature that has even been measured to have a beneficial effect on our mental health.

Even so, due to the habitat pressure of housing and intensive farming, our birds find it ever harder to survive.

As winter continues, the available food in the wild becomes less available. Supplement naturally occurring food in your garden and watch them flock in! High-energy food containing suet helps birds get through the cold. Remember to keep feeders and tables clean, so the birds stay healthy and disease-free, and position your feeders in a relatively open area away from predators – the birds will feel safer and visit more.

READ MORE: Hospice raises thousands recycling Christmas trees

Before spring starts why not consider a putting up a nest box? Once we get into the warmer flowery days of spring, the birds will have started nesting already and it will be too late.

Some natural shelter is best if possible, but otherwise facing somewhere between south-east and north is good to avoid direct sunlight and driving rain. The Worcestershire Wildlife Trust has lots of advice for feeding birds and making nest boxes on its website.

The RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch is coming up on 25-27 January. It is a nationwide survey which many other countries also do at the same time.

You pick an hour and then watch and count which birds show up in your garden, or a local park. Even if you don’t see any, it is valuable information that the RSPB puts together for a picture of our winter bird populations.