Hi Emily
That’s brilliant news. Sounds as if it might be a hibernating nest, although they sometimes make ones that they don’t necessarily use – immediately at least. I’m sure the hog was very appreciative of all the leaves, etc. you left. It probably saved it a lot of extra work collecting them.
It would be o.k. if you left the camera aimed at the hog house, as long as you don’t put it too close. If you place it further away, it will give you a wider angle of view, anyway, which might be useful. So you could put it, say, roughly 8 – 10 feet away and that should show any hogs coming and going but not disturb them. I am assuming it is an infra-red camera not white flash light they might not like that so much.
Sounds like you are doing a pretty good job of helping the hogs. But nest making materials are very useful coming up to hibernation. They use an amazing amount. I just rake the leaves off my lawn area onto the borders, and sometimes leave piles of them here and there. A hog once built a nest in a food box here, which conveniently had a camera already positioned opposite it. I had some long ornamenal grasses which I had cut and left a pile round the back of the hog house. It was so funny seeing him going and collecting mouthfuls of the grass – looked like enormously long moustaches!
They like medium sized leaves best. They can be from trees or shrubs. The hog I mentioned used quite a lot of weigela leaves. The grasses were used to weave them all together.
Other than that just try to make your garden as wildlife friendly as you can, and of course always leave water available all day every day.
