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Save Our Hedgehogs

For more information please go to http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/hedgehog-street.html

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Look what's in my garden :o)

I've had my suspicions that I have an evening visitor to my garden..... It's just past midnight and I've just had a quick look...and here's what I found :o) 
(Click to expand pictures)


Can't see it?  Here's a closer look


Still can't spot it?


Mrs Tiggywinkle!

(You may spot my little stone hedgehog by the pots in the first photo)

I love hedgehogs, and when I spotted some unusual poop in the garden and wondered if it WAS a hedgehog.
Low and behold Google came up trumps, it was - who else would get excited over poop?  LOL.
 So I looked further into feeding information and discovered that the bird foods I put out are ideal fodder.  Each evening at dusk I've been putting out a dish of water and a dish of mealworms, sultanas, sunflower hearts and crushed peanuts pushed under my tiny chiminera and each morning it's been eaten :o)  I did spot it a couple of nights ago, but in my exitement I forgot the camera!

I've been watching the BBC's Springwatch live, and they mentioned a scheme called "Hedghog Street" I think I'll apply for a pack - my only worry are the houses with dogs as they will attack and kill the little dears.  My little helper Sid has more sense and just sits and watches it's movements :o)

Well, I'd really better close now.  I'll be back very soon with a 'normal' post ;o)

Best wishes to all, bye for now.




Addendum

Pam and Cathy asked if hedgehogs do damage to the garden?  The answer is a resounding NO!  They forage in the soil and eat worms, beetles, catapillars and other invertabrates - though should they find a birds egg they certainly wouldn't ignore it.  They do eat slugs too, but I've discovered that they would only be a small percentage of it's diet - which is be a good job as slugs carry a type of lung worm that can kill hedgehogs.

I was outside at about 7.30 am pegging out washing and I've discovered a Blackbird nesting in the Kiwi :o)  Just hoping now that Sid will not cause any problems :o(  The last time we had a bird nesting in the garden was about 20 years ago, a wren made it's home in the dry-stone wall.

Bye again from one happy blogger!


14 comments:

petals and vintage said...

He is sooo cute!

Do they do any damage in the garden Rose?

Pam x

Ann@A Sentimental Life said...

mystery solved!

acorn hollow said...

Sooo cute! Do they do any damage to your gardens or anything?
Cathy

Helen said...

So cute. We had a hedgehog in our garden when I was a little girl, they are lovely creatures arn't they? Thank you for the comment you left on my blog,
Love
Helen

Vintage Jane said...

I remember seeing plenty of hedgehogs when I was younger (and not all flattened in the middle of the road either!) but haven't seen one for years now. I would love for my little man to see one. Lucky you! M x

RDA Pony Tales said...

Our milkman delivers our milk around midnight, so I usually wait up to bring it in (the milk, not the milkman!). Sometimes I spot a hedgehog making its way towards our garden if I am lucky. They are so sweet, and I always get sad when I see them killed on the road. I have not managed to get any photos like you, so am well impressed... watch out Kate Humble! :) Abby x

Louise said...

Lovely! I love hedgehogs too, Dave always calls them whiffle-pigs for some reason!

We get a lot of wildlife in my garden, but it's always too dark to see it night and I never go out to look! Perhaps I'll make more effort now I'm going to be home every weekend!

Louise

PS I'm a night owl too!

Rose H (UK) said...

Hi Louise! I can understand the Whiffle-pigs...snuffling also known as whiffling ;o) Must be a black country saying.
Rose H

Rose H (UK) said...

Abby, you can't fool me - it's the milkman really! Photo's were taken in the dark with a point and guess camera! Couldn't hold the torch and the camera LOL. Thank you for the compliment but I'm sure Kate Humble is quite safe :o)

...Nina Nixon... said...

Hi Rose - I can't remember where I got all the labels from. Most of them are from Hobbycraft, but a few I bought last year in the sales.

Hope that helps?

Nina x

Kim said...

Oh wow - how brilliant!!! I'm so jealous!! Hope you see him/her many more times. I saw a badger in my garden last year and was absolutely enthralled. Haven't seen him since but it felt like such a privilege that he chose my garden to forage in. :)

Martha said...

I, too, love Hedgehogs but I'm not sure if we have any in Kansas -- lucky you!!!

George The Lad said...

Hi Auntie Rose, can you save some of the food you put out for him, he gets better food than me!! you are lucky to have one in your garden.
See Yea George xxx

Mary said...

We used to have a hedgehog for many years in my childhood garden - I wish I could have a Mrs. Tiggywinkle here - never see them in the US - but I too have a cement one in a flower border!

Now you have birds too, great news. We have about 15 species of wild birds who visit our feeders and garden - we seem to spend more on their food than ours some weeks!!!!

Mary X