Hi Annie
Yesterday was a sad day for hogs when, yet another, rural hog became a roadkill statistic. It was on a link road from a major (dual carriageway) road to a minor one. The poor thing was so squashed that it was difficult to make out which part was what. I just about managed to work out that it’s face was pale. I know I shouldn’t feel relieved that it wasn’t Digger, because it was a hog and near enough to have been one of my visitors, if not this year then last. Impossible even to tell whether male or female but seemed to be a good sized hog. So sad. Last night I waited in trepidation to be sure that it wasn’t Digger’s beau of the previous night, but no it wasn’t him either. Naughty Digger, who has been arriving recently within a half hour span didn’t turn up, but thankfully she was on the video about midnight. I have made sure that the poor dead hog has made it’s mark by entering it on the Big Hedgehog Map – frustrating though that was, I persevered – I felt I owed it to him/her to have his/her death recorded.
Digger seems to have got things well worked out. If the young lad hogs make advances, she either ignores them or runs off – usually with them in hot pursuit! But when a handsome, more mature, chap, worthy of her attention, appears it’s a different matter. Mind you, she wasn’t very impressed by his wimpishness, when he ran off and left her when a helicopter flew over! Nor when he deserted her, again, to get some food. No wonder she gave him a disgruntled biff at one point! I caught some of it on my pond cam (which has quite a clear picture) before they disappeared into the undergrowth.
Someone has ordered the Pam Ayres book for me, although I’m not sure whether or not I am going to have to wait for it until Christmas!
The slug pellet thing is a problem. People are too distanced from wild animals and can ‘conveniently’ put them out of their minds. Even worse, when the problem is pointed out to them and they still use them. It’s like people who waste huge amounts of money buying stuff to put on their lawns and all it creates is a green desert. (and I’m convinced the moss killer makes more moss grow!) I have never put anything on my lawn, but have been complimented in the past about how nice it looked. Or ‘how do you keep your grass looking so nice’ – Don’t put any chemicals on it! Allow a bit of clover to grow. It fixes nitrogen so fertilizes the grass naturally. Digger has been having a good time foraging on my ‘lawn’, complete with it’s new longer patches, which is far better than having an expanse of, fake looking green, grass.
Well done re. The developers. If you haven’t already seen them, here are a couple of links from Hh Street, which might be useful.
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/planning-advice-hedgehogs/
It’s so easy for them to put in bird nest bricks, etc. I worry about the poor swifts, when so many people these days seem to block every possible entrance into their roof spaces. They could really benefit from having built in nests, as well as martins, etc. I have four artificial martin nests on my house and love it when they all return. It is so nice to hear them cheerfully chattering away. The good thing about the artificial nests is not only can the birds start breeding earlier, but also their droppings don’t seem to hit the walls, because of where the entrances are located, so it is wins all round.
Interesting about your tatty blackbird. I sometimes get them here looking similar to how you describe, but definitely adults. It seems mostly on their backs and I have always thought it looks like their downy underneath feathers sticking out. Not sure why. It’s almost as if they have been pecking there to get soft feathers for their nest lining. It reminds me of how rabbits use their own fur to line their nests. I also wondered whether they could have been attacked, but got away. It has always been male birds I have seen. Robbie still seems to be waiting to swoop close to me when I go out, in the hope of some food. Wish I knew whether Robbie was male or female, but I did see a fledgling robin in the garden recently so that’s probably where some of the food has been going. One of the starlings seems to think it’s name is Robbie, too and is usually not far behind – looking very resplendent in it’s iridescent plumage. I have to stand close so that Robbie has first chance.
You are good, keeping putting food out in hope of a visiting hog. Fingers crossed one turns up one night.
