Hedgehog, Latest Update

Nearly a fortnight on ... and the hedgehog is still visiting. 

 

I would love to know if s/he may yet hibernate. We have already had a cold snap when we had to break the ice on the water bowl. The advice seems to be to keep feeding while the animal continues to visit unless s/he looks very under weight or unwell. 

Caught On Our Trailcam

 

We think this is a Song Thrush. rather than a Mistle Thrush: do you agree?

Robin taking off?

A hungry hedgehog

Hedgehog and snail

Hedgehog and snail (2)

Trailcam Photos of the Hedgehog in our Garden, May 2024

 

I hope the hedgehog (right) had finished its meal and was on the way home ...

 

As regular readers know, we live in an area frequented by hedgehogs. The photos above are a record of recent hedgehog visits to our wild suburban garden in Suffolk. We put down water and food ... and, as you can see, it is sometimes a case of who finds it first! 

The Return of the Hedgehog

 

Thanks to the Trailcam, we were absolutely thrilled to find that a hedgehog had been visiting our garden most nights last week. Of course, we can't tell whether it is the one who came to our door for food and water nearly every evening last summer, but who knows ...

Autumn Sunshine at NT Sutton Hoo

How the season has changed! An abundance of ripe chestnuts

The woods at NT Sutton Hoo, a mix of green and brown

I wonder how many more Darters we will see this year ...

A tiny camouflaged Grasshopper

Spot the Dragon enjoying some mottled sunshine

Looking across the Deben to Woodbridge

 And finally ... 

... we checked the Trailcam today and were delighted to find that the hedgehog had been here on 23 September (and not at 2 or 3 am this time). We stopped putting out the Yora insect-based food a few days ago as it was being snapped up by a cat. But we have replenished the supply tonight; let's hope the hedgehog returns as I suspect its need is greater than the feline's.  

 

Garden Update: Wasp Spider, Hedgehog and Hummingbird Hawkmoth

 

We have been keeping an eagle eye out for these colourful spiders, unlike the False Widows under our porch, which are, I feel, rather too close for comfort ... 

We had almost convinced ourselves that we would not have any Wasp Spiders in the garden this year when, lo and behold, we found one this morning! I apologise for the quality of this record shot, but I will hope to get some better pictures tomorrow.

We are delighted to find that the hedgehog has been around again. We put out some suitable hedgehog food last night for the first time, but discovered a neighbourhood cat eating it soon afterwards, so it may be that the hedgehog was simply coming for the water we leave out in a tray. It was evidently another very mild night. The Trailcam is coming into its own ... and I'm glad to report that there have still been no sightings of rats!

 

We are much enjoying almost daily visits from the Hummingbird Hawk-moth. These insects are very fluttery and a joy to watch. The white Buddleia flowers are nearly over, but I hope they will last a bit longer ...

Caught on Camera: Fox

Well, what a surprise ...

We had a hunch we had been entertaining a night visitor, but had not anticipated something as large as a fox. 

The (Trailcam) camera never lies! 

As you can see, the visit above took place a couple of months ago on 1 June 2022. The middle photo was taken on 16 June 2022. 

These are my first records of a fox in the garden (as opposed to a fox in our street), which brings my garden mammal species up to a current total of seven. 

Our garden is pretty dog-proof, and we are wondering how the fox has been getting in (and out again) ...

 

Trailcam Update and RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch Reminder

We hope to take part once again in the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which runs from 28 to 30 January 2022. It is always interesting to see which of the 'regulars' deign to show up during our chosen hour, and if there are any surprises. Do consider taking part yourselves; this must be one of the largest and most popular citizen science projects around.

You might be wondering why I am posting a photograph of a Grey Squirrel. Well, it occurred to me that taking part in the Birdwatch is a bit like taking the photographs off our garden Trailcam ... you never quite know what you will find.  

Our Trailcam has picked up the following creatures to date:

1. Blackbird
2. Robin
3. Blue tit
4. Pigeon
5. Magpie
   
6. Great tit
7. Grey Squirrel
8. Mouse
9. Other people's domestic cats ... several

We keep hoping it will deliver a surprise, though I have to say that (despite the charm of 'Ray' the rodent on BBC Winterwatch), I am glad we have not ended up with frame upon frame of rats! In fact, rats have not appeared at all to date. Perhaps I should mention Ray's nemesis, the Tawny Owl; as it happens, I have just heard our resident bird calling, but I sense an appearance on the Trailcam is, at the very least, unlikely. 

Here is a small selection of our recent photographs ...

I would love to know the real colour of the fur.

One of our faithful visitors, a female Blackbird

This one was burning the midnight oil ...

This was the early bird Grey Squirrel.

 

 

#30DaysWild 6 June, Day 6: A Tale of (at least) Two Blackbirds

The two photos above from our TrailCam show 'Star', the partially-leucistic female Blackbird, caught on camera. She is nearly always the star of our garden show as there must be particularly juicy worms in this corner of the garden! The orange arrow in the top photo shows the distinguishing mark that led to her 'name'.  

The two photos below show her mate, 'Mr Star', taken on different days, but with a bill full of food on each occasion.

 

The Blackbirds seemed to be foraging nearly all the time, and we began to have a hunch that there was almost certainly a 'Star Junior'. We became a bit fearful for the fledgling when the camera showed photos of potential predators in the form of the visiting cat and magpie you see below.

 

The foragaing continued apace, which we took to be a good sign. The adult male Blackbird kept his distance, often standing sentinel on top of a fir tree, but Star would wander round the grassy paths and come within a metre of us if we were sitting on the patio.

 

It seems the frantic hunt for food continued on into the night. The photo above, taken at 03.16 hrs yesterday morning, seems to show a Blackbird bill looking up at something in the air.

We have at last been 'introduced' to Star Junior, a single sleek and healthy-looking semi-fledgling. We have watched mother and young hopping in tandem round the grassy paths. We have seen Star's offspring fly into a low branch and we have watched it 'flop', with feathers all spread out, on the decking. Each day, and almost each hour, brings more independence. I did not like to disturb the 'new arrival' by clicking my camera (which always 'pings' when switched on) while it was spreadeagled in the sunshine, but I hope soon to be able to post a photograph, providing the latest bird on the block stays around a little longer.