We have had our driest and warmest spring for more than a century and while sun seekers may be loving it, some of our wildlife is not.

Figures show that Dorset had its driest spring for 101 years, recording just 30 per cent of average rainfall, with mean temperatures way above the norm for March, April and May.

With ponds and rivers drying up, the RSPB has launched a survey aiming to find out how creatures are coping with the dry weather.

Residents are being urged to take part in a summer garden wildlife survey, Make Your Nature Count. Last year 70,000 gardens were surveyed and 1,659 people in Dorset joined in.

It will focus on wildlife associated with water, such as frogs, newts and toads, alongside common garden birds.

“This spring has been the driest on record so far for Dorset, and it’s having an impact on wildlife,” said Tony Whitehead from the RSPB.

“Wetland birds such as lapwing that rely on surface water are going to struggle and in our gardens, birds such as blackbirds and robins will have a harder job teasing out worms from the dry ground.

“And of course birds such as house martins and swallows that use mud in their nests are finding things difficult.”

However, some birds are adapting with a little help.

“At RSPB Arne, swallows have for the first time ever taken to artificial nests, perhaps in response to lack of wet mud,” he said.

“We also know that creatures such as toads and frogs might have a harder year as the water in which they spawn dries out.”

The Daily Echo reported in April that there appeared to be a drop on the numbers of toads needing human intervention from the Ringwood Toad Patrol to cross the Gorley Road.

However, in March, gardeners were reporting large quantities of frog spawn in ponds across the county. But hedgehog numbers have crashed, from an estimated 300 million in Britain in the 1950s to just 1.5m by 1995.

“If there’s one thing everyone can do to help wildlife right now, it’s provide water,” said Tony. “This can be by keeping the birdbath clean and topped up, or maintaining a garden pond.

“You might also provide some trays of wet mud if you have swallows and house martins thinking of nesting. But remember, do be careful with the water you use, it’s always a precious resource and especially so right now.”

What you can also do is spare an hour during this week to take part in the RSPB’s Make Your Nature Count survey.

Just count the birds and other wildlife that visit your garden, recording the highest number of each species seen at any one time.

Dorset bird results from 2010 survey

•Figures are for percentage of gardens in which bird was seen

Blackbird 94.00

Blue tit 72.61

Chaffinch 45.31

Coal tit 29.67

Collared dove 48.10

Dunnock 58.66

Goldfinch 45.98

Great tit 57.65

Greenfinch 50.80

House martin 11.83

House sparrow 73.63

Jackdaw 36.18

Long tailed tit 14.12

Magpie 51.56

Robin 73.96

Song thrush 22.65

Starling 44.38

Swift 14.29

Wood pigeon 84.70

Wren 23.75