More than one in every five gardens in Oxfordshire is home to hedgehogs and foxes, and five per cent attract badgers, according to participants in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ first summer wildlife survey.

The results of the Make Your Nature Count survey also revealed that frogs and toads live in many gardens in the county. More than 39 per cent recorded seeing frogs regularly and 19 per cent reported regular sightings of toads.

In Oxfordshire, 629 people took part in Make Your Nature Count. The new wildlife stock-take is the first time the RSPB has asked for information about wildlife other than birds visiting gardens in summer. Participants were also asked to record garden visitors such as squirrels and badgers.

Louise Pedersen, of the RSPB’s Oxfordshire office, said: “We’ve been surprised at the diversity of wildlife gardens in Oxfordshire support. Many people are seeing foxes, hedgehogs and badgers on a regular basis, species perhaps more associated with the wider countryside.

“For 30 years, Big Garden Birdwatch has provided the RSPB with information of winter bird numbers, but this survey will start to build an even bigger picture of garden wildlife throughout the year.”

The survey, which took place in June, has also revealed that gardens have on average ten different species of birds present at that time of year. The blackbird is the most frequent visitor, recorded in 95 per cent of all gardens, followed by the woodpigeon in 85 per cent.

Because of the time of year, the survey also asked people to look out for some of our breeding birds and summer migrants. Baby blackbirds were recorded by 42 per cent of people and 32 per cent had young robins. Young song thrushes were recorded in 17 per cent of gardens. Song thrush numbers have declined by 50 per cent since the 1970s, but in recent years have started to make a bit of a recovery.

Of the summer migrants, swifts were seen over one in five gardens, a good sign they are breeding nearby. House martins were seen by 21 per cent and six per cent had swallows.

The decline of summer visitors is of great concern to the RSPB. Swift numbers have declined by almost a third since 1994. The cause of the decline is believed to be loss of nest sites through building improvement or demolition.

Louise added: “Gardens are an excellent habitat for a range of different species.

“As more and more people realise the importance of feeding and gardening for wildlife, they are delighted by the variety of species visiting their garden, regardless of size and location.

“There is also a growing appetite for people creating ponds, wildlife areas and feeding areas and this is reflected in the results of the survey.”

Visit the RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount for the UK-wide Make Your Nature Count results. For more information on gardening for wildlife, log on to www.rspb.org.uk/hfw