Feb 2022 – hedgehog(s) on camera every night at feeder again
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Hedgehogs have been feeding in my feeders sporadically throughout the winter, now visiting every night as seen on my camera this week. The cold affected the operation of the camera so I’ve only just started putting it out again.
There’s a water dish inside the feeder to prevent it freezing & it’s usually almost empty every day & most or all of the food eaten. They’re leaving little muddy pawprints & the occasional poo, leaf or piece of hay from the nestbox as clues for me! I wasn’t sure the nest box had an inhabitant but the doorway is definitely being used every night, nice to think someone is safe & dry under my shrubs.
A cat has proved herself to be very supple as she’s also appeared on camera emerging from the feeder where I didn’t think a cat could possibly get in or out, trying a couple of alterations to the entrances to keep her out.
Hello, trailcam in my feeder last night had 66 short clips with multiple visits. Close inspection suggests there are recurrent visits by 3 different ones throughout the night (1 with a tick near its right eye, 1 with no tick and 1 with a small nick in its ear). That would account for the amount of food they have been going through the last few nights. At first I thought only one hog but now…
Last year I used a home made feeding station which needed a lot of adaptation to keep out the various local cats. So last month I bought a purpose-built one which was advertised as being cat-proof. The trailcam inside proved this not to be the case as two of the local moggies were squeezing in (must be very bendy). A piece of paving slab at each entrance seems to have done the trick so far – fingers crossed.
I have two hog houses (igloo style) but don’t know if they are inhabited. I also have a garden shed which has very good access underneath at one end. Whenever I saw hogs arriving in the past, they’d come in from the back lane behind the houses.Hi Annie
(Continued from old thread, as well).
Re. the cat – if it’s a hog box with ‘corridors’ I’ve found the best way to keep the cats out is to reduce the height of the corridor by putting bricks, paviers, or other suitable object (wood would do). The hogs don’t mind at all climbing over bricks, etc, and are able to turn and squeeze through surprisingly small spaces. That seems to work better than all the other methods I’ve tried – despite people saying the other things worked! I suspect not everyone has such bendy determined cats!
Froggy seems to have disappeared. I suspect he/she has gone elsewhere for spawning time and don’t hold out much hope for getting any in my pond! Someone a few doors down has a bigger pond and I suspect that’s where they go – maybe even where they came from.
I don’t seem to get squirrels here (although shouldn’t talk too soon), which is strange as I see them over the road running along the electricity wires. But a ratty was there again last night – after a break. It only has one eye with eyeshine and I think it might be the same one as I’ve seen before. I might put some strategically placed object on the grass near where I put the hog food – no hogs for a few weeks now, but won’t be long until the boys emerge – I hope. Ratty went into the hibernation box again, but came straight out, so I hope the boy/s are ok in there.
Re. The bird food. Yes, I came to the same conclusion. I used to get all sorts of strange things growing from what the birds chucked out! In between I tried sunflower seeds but got fed up with the carpet of empty seed cases! At the moment it’s sunflower hearts and suet pellets (the suet pellets in a bowl on a raised area). The seed doesn’t get put out if a rat visits. Sometimes they get fat squares instead of the seed, but the starlings make short work of that!
Yes, there’s certainly been a lot going on in 2022 already and it’s hardly begun! Just hope it’s a good year for the hogs. Fingers crossed for them all.
Hi Mags63
No, those hog boxes never are cat proof, despite what they claim! It sounds as if you might be doing what I do – reducing the height of part of the entrance passageway by putting a brick or similar there – although I’m not completely sure that’s what you meant.
Sheds are often good places for hogs to make nests – a nice big dry area.
It’s good to hear the hogs are still visiting there. They don’t seem to mind the cold as long as they can get plenty of food and water.
Hello. We saw our first hog since October last night. We have a camera at our wildlife pond and it picked it up round there. We’ve put our other camera out tonight on one of the hog boxes we think was occupied back in October. Could of course come from elsewhere. We have a feeding station in a quiet place that we use during winter, but don’t think it had been in there. Food and water out tonight in the usual feeding area, so will see if it turns up again.
hi, re the bird food – yes I have had lots of strange plants growing in the garden last year. Or as a gardening friend (and former policewoman) said to me last summer “looks like you are growing cannabis in your garden”- the hemp seeds included in the bird food ingredients list had taken root and looked highly suspicious!
My sister in SW Scotland sent me a brief clip from the trailcamera in her hog feeder – two hogs sharing a dish of food. Not even shoving each other about.
Hi Marchel
Lovely to hear you have a hog there. Keep up the good work with the food and water and happy hog watching!
Hi Mags63
Yes, I think the hemp was my most ‘exotic’ looking plant from the birdseed! Although I have had the occasional sunflower plant, but surprisingly infrequently.
The hogs sharing the dish may be last years hoglets – who might be quite big by now – they seem to like sharing, although sometimes certain adults don’t mind sharing either. Not so likely with the males, though, especially once there are females around as well!
Seems like the hog season is really getting going now! (Even if, for some, it never stopped!)
We watched the camera footage from last night and it did indeed come out and back into the hog box a number of times. Pretty confident it’s the one that we thought had hibernated in there..
Was out and about from around 7.30 pm to 6am. Good news it’s made it so far. Was just born last year.
It’s back mooching around this evening.Hi Marchel
That’s great news. It’s always lovely to hear that a last year’s hoglet has made it safely through hibernation. Hibernation is probably the most dangerous ‘natural’ time for hogs, so something to celebrate when they make it safely through their first one. I hope all continues to go well for the hog.
hi, hogs still coming every night to the feeder – that’s been about five weeks since I first noticed activity (although they may have been around before). Not deterred by a couple of frosts and a bit of wet snow. Weather here (a few miles north of Inverness) more wintry last few days but nowhere near as bad as further south. Do hope everyone has survived these dreadful recent storms – take care!
Hi Annie and everyone,
So exciting – the first hog of the season caught on camera last night! I had mentally been thinking about 3rd March and there he was – only about 20 minutes early!
But as if that wasn’t exciting enough – some frog spawn appeared! Not where I might have expected/hoped for – some in a deep semi-pond plant saucer and some on the ground. I saw what was on the ground first and put some of it in that semi-pond, but then realised there was already some in there, but not a huge amount. Unfortunately that isn’t in the camera view, so I don’t know what happened, but potentially the hog might have gone for a drink there and disturbed the frog – or possibly a cat, although there wasn’t one caught on the nearer camera. So now I’ll just have to wait to see if anything hatches – and keep topping up those saucers! There are two big frogs in the pond. Watch this space for any possible new arrivals!
I hope all is well with you, the hogs there, etc. Spring is really on the way. We are so lucky that we have that to look forward to. If only everyone could.
Hi, me too! First sighting tonight! Think they’ve been active for a couple days as the food has been going but actually surprised one tonight when refilling food. So nice to see them again!
Hi Nic & everybody
Wow, lots of hedgehogs everywhere by the sound of it. Great to hear as so many people never see one their entire lives. I’m so glad you have an early visitor Nic.
Frogs lay spawn in small puddles sometimes then the water dries up & the spawn dies with it, yours are lucky they have you to top up the water. I suppose any port in a storm, they have fewer & fewer places every year. Guess things will be interesting frogwise for you, my tiny pond has none & just as well as it’s a very busy bird bath.
I discovered from my camera that a totally new cat was doing an amazing limbo & twisting itself into a ridiculous shape to successfully enter the ‘cat proof’ feeder even after all my adaptations. Spent a lot of time with pieces of wood, a shelf support, drill, screws, a brick or two & finally I have a totally cat proof feeder. I’ve seen the cat on camera glumly sitting peering into the impossible to enter tunnel muttering to itself! The simpler one at the bottom of the garden seems to be cat proof using a combination of plants in pots, bricks, general position etc. Probably should set up the camera to check actually! Usually crumbs left & poo which indicates hogs eating the food as cats lick up all the crumbs.
I was surprised a night or two ago to open the feeder lid at 18.00 when it was still pretty light to put food in & see a very large hog in the middle section looking up at me waiting for tea! I closed the lid a moment then opened it again & it had very obligingly moved into one of the entrance hallways so I was able to put the lino floor in & the food dishes. Came back up the garden 5 minutes later to the sound of happy crunching & when it went quiet later I put the water dish in too & topped up the food.
Monday night I sat out by the nesting box as the light went & just after twilight got going around 18.30 out came the very large hog & set off trundling round the border. Tuesday I spotted it already out wandering outside the feeder around the same time.
Pigeon still coming, flying to my hand & even landed on my back when I was bent over doing some gardening last week! Bit of a surprise…
Sounds like we have an exciting Spring ahead of us but as you say Nic not everyone sadly . Terrible times yet again, hope somehow it’s resolved soon, such a waste of life.
Hi Annie
That hog sounds quite a character!
Sadly most of the frogspawn disappeared over a couple of days. It seems likely something ate it. I suppose it’s possible there is some left underneath the water etc. – time will tell – but it may not have been viable anyway. The place I found it was just damp from rain and right in the open – no puddle (partly on bare earth and partly on the end of one of those posts which are used for electric fences – which I use in the garden as plant supports) so I think it must have been some sort of accident/event. But, there is an enormously round looking frog in the main pond (as well as another more normal sized one) so I’m wondering whether it has some frog spawn to lay. I hope so.
Yes, some cats seem able to get in the most amazing spaces! So far no cat has got into my feed box, although they do still visit. Sadly so do the rats – one which only has one eyeshine and another with two – they don’t seem to turn up on the same night. One seems scared of going into the feedbox, but the other has got braver. Very annoying. They don’t get much food, but seem good at catching worms and seem to be finding a few of those.
The hog disappeared again. Maybe he thought he could do with a bit more hibernation after a top up with some food. But I have a lovely male blackbird who makes his presence known until I feed him. I think he must be the same one who has been here before because he seemed to know exactly what to do, although as they all look pretty much the same, it’s hard to tell! Glad to hear Pidge is still there! Cheeky thing, landing on your back!
Keep up the good work with the hogs!
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