Feb 2022 – hedgehog(s) on camera every night at feeder again
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Hi Mags
Haha re poo, I have to pick it up most days & sounds like yours are prolific too. Glad you have so much going on in your garden, my spiky visitors are still eating me out of house & home.
Hi Annie
Just realised I may not have replied to your previous post! I still have that ’round’ frog in my pond, so it can’t be spawn all this time, so I am wondering even more whether it’s a foreign frog. No tadpoles materialised, but I have a load of water-boatmen, which is lovely.
Ratty has gone (for now) and Mr. blackbird seems too busy feeding his young to waste time trying to attract my attention for food. One of the youngsters has taken to sitting down in the ‘lawn’ and waiting for him to bring the food!
I had a pair of blue tits who appeared to be nesting in a house martin nest – doesn’t seem to be an ideal place! The martins are now back, but I haven’t had time to check whether they have taken back their old nest again.
Hog visits are down at the moment – I suspect the males are all too busy chasing females! But there are still some of the regulars. Plenty of birds, including corvids who eat any kitten biscuits left over.
Hi Nic
Nice to hear from you.
I hope it isn’t a foreign frog as I think they eat our native ones particularly if they’re large, sounds peculiar whatever it is. Released into the wild frogs often turn up, our milder weather probably suits them. We’ve always had lots of red eared terrapins in Cardiff since the 80’s due to Ninja Turtle mania & the subsequent release of difficult to care for stinky terrapins who grow to the size of a dinner plate if cared for properly. The council used to round them up & put them in the Tropical greenhouse, don’t know if they still do.
There’s on & off hog feeding going on, some nights all gone & tell tale crumbs left (& muddy foot prints) others hardly touched, don’t know what they’re up to. The magpies get the kitten biscuits soaked in a water bowl to try to get them to leave the little birds alone. A gorgeous massive glossy crow has cottoned on too.
House martins, how lovely, hope the blue tits found a more suitable nesting site so they could have their nest back. Reducing feeding the birds, fill up at night ready for the morning then just a few inches in the mid afternoon to encourage them to look elsewhere, marauding screeching starlings & feral pigeons appearing in too great numbers. Love watching the babies bathing together though, sparrows too.
Squirrels are entertaining us, a baby with a clearly striped tail (imaginatively called him Stripe after the Gremlin!) as good as takes nuts from me, doesn’t like walnuts apparently. Luckily he doesn’t share Gremlin Stripe’s violent tendencies.
Hi Annie
The frog is still a bit of a mystery. I have been looking up foreign frogs, but can’t find anything at all like this one. It does look just like a normal British frog but with a round (although fairly flat) body. The only thing I did find was that some frogs become over-weight! Although it seems that is most likely ones in captivity who have access to too much food too easily. I can’t imagine it would be able to eat other frogs, because it’s head is a normal frog size – hope not, anyway.
I have stopped feeding the birds in the seed feeder and ratty seems to have given up for now. The interesting thing is that I still get loads of birds in the garden, possibly doing more interesting things. I still put out a small amount of suet pellets in a bowl in the mornings (the timing is a bit variable, so they don’t get used to looking out for them at a regular time, to hopefully allow for the smaller birds to get a share). Also for Mr and Mrs blackbird if they make their presence felt. I put out an occasional suet square – I think the starlings get most of that – but, smaller birds underneath to pick up any crumbs! The corvids (and a robin!) eat any of the kitten biscuits which the cats and hogs don’t eat. Sounds like a good idea to distract the corvids from the smaller birds’ food with soaked kitten biscuits.
Last time I looked the blue tits were still using one martins nest with martins using the attached one. Seems an ok compromise. The blue tits may already have fledged by now, so the martins might still use that nest as well. If only for some of the early youngsters to roost in.
I’m still getting the regular hogs – mostly males. One hog was sleeping in the feedbox today – he’s been in there a few times this year.
I agree about the young birds bathing. The other day there were about 8 young starlings in one water bowl! Looked as if they were having a lovely time.
Squirrel sounds cute – fussy thing not liking walnuts! But glad to hear it doesn’t have violent tendencies!
Hi Nic
Life’s been bit odd for a while so been absent from here.
I reduced feeding birds in the back garden to all feeders first thing in the morning & then a small amount in the fence (not hanging) feeders mid afternoon as pigeons became problematic arriving in great numbers & now things are quieter. Magpies still finishing off any kitten biscuits that the hogs leave, put them in the water dish from the night before & they’re very popular with the magpie babies.
The front garden is just bird baths & that’s a calm but very busy area for sparrows drinking & bathing, very pleasant as no screeching starlings. Mr & Mrs Blackbird & Woody Woodpigeon make good use of them too.
Hogs are visiting as usual nightly, some nights all food is gone others they leave some which means there’s enough to go round for them all. I met one charging up the path the other night when I went to fill the bird feeders ready for the morning, so I stood still & it rushed up to my bare toes, had a good sniff then wheeled round as if shot & tore into the hedgehog feeder!! All I could hear was crunching so my feet hadn’t put it off eating…..
How are your birds doing in this hot weather, did the martins nest in your eaves? Hope ratty has stayed away & wonder what the round frog is up to.
Hi Annie
Good to hear from you. I have still stopped the hanging feeder and just put some food out first thing in the morning – other than when Mr. Blackbird makes his presence known, when he gets some more. He sometimes flies up to the eaves as soon as I open the curtains! I might try putting out some suet balls when the weather gets a bit cooler. There is also a naughty young blackbird who has been pecking the berries of my rowan tree (not ripe yet) and dropping them – also pulling up some of my fairly newly rooted cuttings from pots. I think he is from an earlier brood of Mr. Blackbird’s and seems to be quite tame.
I keep seeing gold finches eating the seeds off the knautia macedonica which I left and even saw a greenfinch the other day. Before that I hadn’t seen one for ages – even when the seed feeder was still there. I also see the sparrows quite often eating the grass seed on the unmown patches.
I haven’t seen ratty for a long time – always suspected it was the bird seed which attracted it.
Like you I get lots of birds in the bird baths. They seem to like having a communal bathe in the larger saucers. I do still get the starlings, but also at other times lots of sparrows.
Sadly round frog died. Luckily it got out of the pond first, so didn’t contaminate it. I haven’t seen any other frogs recently, but the vegetation has all grown up a bit, so they wouldn’t be so easy to see. But I did see a young one near the water butts (a bit away from the ponds) a while back, which was nice to see.
There are martins using at least one of the nests. I keep meaning to sit out there and see if any others are being used, but never seem to think of it at the right time. There seem to be quite a few around, but some others nearby have also put up some nests, which is good.
I’ve given up scattering the kitten biscuits at the moment as I was getting too many cats eating them and the current hogs that visit will go in the feed boxes (which the cats gave up trying to get into). I hope saying that doesn’t mean a cat manages to get in tonight! Although I haven’t seen one for several days now. But hog numbers are down a bit at the moment.
How funny that hogs’ reaction to being confronted by your toes. It always surprises me that they don’t notice before they actually get to them!
Busy in the feeder the last 2-3 weeks after a slightly quieter spell last month (hogs still came but ate a lot less food, hopefully because they found more natural food). This month the food is usually finished most nights and the trailcam in the feeder picks up lots of separate visits. Also noticed a hog around 3am today underneath the suet ball feeder, so presumably eating dropped bits. Until the last couple of days we have had a long dry spell, so perhaps less natural food in the dry conditions. There are a lot of cats here so I stopped putting out any food in the garden as they just finished it off during the night and, in the morning, seagulls and pigeons hoovered up any leftovers. If I put the trailcam outside I can see the moggies wandering around throughout the night.
We have 6 (these are the ones I can identify as individuals), that come every night. The camera is taking pictures and films from 10.00pm until 4.30am. So I’m in hog heaven right now!
We leave food and water all around the garden to prevent any biffing but it still happens as they have a favourite spot (thankfully in front of the camera!).
We have 2 homes for them and I believe one is occupied, but I need more cameras to make sure, but the path in is very well trodden in and out.
Although lots of courting had been going on, I was disappointed that I haven’t seen any hoglets…until last night. We have babies! Two of them.
It’s costing a fortune in memory cards, batteries and hogs food, but every penny i spend on them is worth it.
Gorgeous, fascinating little creatures. 🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔Hi Nic
Poor round frog, but maybe it’s because he was a round frog & wasn’t meant to be.You have many different birds visiting, the benefit of having lots of plants for varied species I suspect, I tend to leave some things go to seed to see who turns up & last year had goldfinches in the winter eating the seeds. We used to live near a golf course with woodland surrounding it & had nuthatches, greenfinches & just about anything you can imagine but very different here.
Sparrows are here in huge numbers, so funny watching them bathing together, a robin uses the bath outside my kitchen early most mornings & is extremely enthusiastic leaping up & down with his wings held high above his little head.Very glad ratty has departed, happily still none to see here but plenty of hog activity , judging by the baby poo plenty of babes too. There was a lot of huffing going on a week ago for hours, food was gone by morning so obviously there was a bit of eating time too!
Rain is desperately needed isn’t it, the ground is so hard I don’t know how all the animals including hedgehogs who eat worms etc are managing to find anything to eat. I keep rescuing wasps out of the bird baths, never seen them drinking in them before this year. The bird baths are refilled several times during the day, I know nobody round here puts water out so guessing there’s a big sign above our garden announcing the prescence of water front & back.
Hope your garden is still busy day & night.
Hi Mags
Hope your feeders are still doing business as there’s so little available to hedgehogs because of this dry weather. The water is being drunk as much as food eaten here, it must be so hard on wildlife this summer.Some nights all the food goes from my feeders & others there’s a little left so it’s being appreciated I think.
Hi Lindyloo, wel done with your babies, we have some too if the baby poo is anything to go by. I haven’t put cameras out much this year but judge my visitors by the assorted messes they leave behind! Messy footprints in the feeders, poo everywhere, dishes dislodged, never a dull moment.
I buy 10kg sacks of Smilla kitten food from Zooplus, it seems the cheapest way to feed them & is good quality, recommended by Hedgehog Cabin & many others.
hi Annie Mac
Yes the feeder has remained busy all summer, with a slight reduction in use during mid-June, but never a night without at least one visit. There is one large hog and one or two smaller ones. My sister down in SW Scotland has a lot of hogs visiting her garden – often 3 or 4 adults at the same time. We both notice a lot of water being drunk this year. A fair amount of poo around the garden and for a while one took to having a regular pee in the feeder. The mouse vanished over the summer but has recently returned, and enjoys running off with pieces of dry food and, oddly, the occasional lump of dog meat (carnivorous mice?)
Hi Annie
Yes, poor round frog – I always thought there must be something wrong with the poor thing. I haven’t been seeing other frogs in the pond, but have seen a couple when I was cutting the long grass in the wilder areas. Luckily no more round ones, but I did see one who was very well camouflaged in the grass. It tried to escape onto the path and I had to pick it up and aim it in the direction of the longer grass which was left.
That must have been lovely having nuthatches, etc. visit your garden. Lovely to watch.
The blackbirds are all awol at the moment – presumably moulting, but there is a young robin just getting its orange ‘redbreast’ who landed on a gate the other day, about a foot away. Cute little thing! Lots of starlings and sparrows still around.
Totally agree re. the rain. I’ve never known such a bad year for the garden. Certainly not good for worms! Sounds lovely all those birds in the birdbaths. Sounds like everyone else’s losses are your gain! Luckily we are getting some rain at last and the grass is greening up already.
I still mostly seem to be getting male hogs. They seem to be not quite as aggressive when they meet now – maybe saving up energy for hibernation which won’t be long now. I often find one in one or other of the feeding boxes. Some grumpier than others at being disturbed! But hopefully they forgive all when they find the food bowl refilled!
Hi Mags63
My spiky pals are consistently feeding every night but have less manners than yours as they not only pee but poo in both feeders!
Hi Nic
Blackbirds are intermittently appearing but extremely tatty so I guess they’re still moulting here. Mucho sparrows & starlings – the latter mostly wearing their winter chain mail. I’ve managed to deter most of the pigeons by feeding later in the morning, the 30+ is down to a max of 10, usually nearer 6. 2 of them follow me up the path like chickens.
Hedgehogs visiting messily, poo everywhere & pee too in feeders. I’ve relocated the nest box under evergreen shrubs as I mistakenly had it half under deciduous last winter forgetting the leaves would fall off! Set up twigs in the doorway for a few nights to ensure nobody was going in or out then cleaned it out, scoured with boiling water to remove any tick eggs that might be hiding (after removing to safety many spiders, centipedes etc) & refilled with a fresh supply of hay. I’ll put some hay in a bucket on its side next to it so anybody who wants to make their own arrangements can.
So funny you find hogs in the feeders, I’ve only found one once who’d gone in before I put the food in one evening. I politely explained if he’d like to go in the entrance tunnel to give me space to put the food in he’d be welcome to eat it & he obligingly did.
I sat out the back last week one evening watching bats swooping back & forth round the houses & one came in the garden & did a circuit which included just above my head under the single storey guttering, almost felt it pass! The bat detector went mad with sound as it came close.
An English lavender plant I found abandoned a couple of years ago while litter picking & planted in my garden was absolutely covered in flowers & subsequently bees & all sorts of pollinators this summer, hugely successful rescue & must have fed unbelievable numbers of little creatures. I’ll pick some of the now finished flowers to dry but the rest can stay on to provide shelter over winter. The end of summer but autumn I love as everything hunkers down for winter to sleep before a new year begins.
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