Our little hog friend of last year hasn't reappeared
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Hi Nic
I have a picture of you in my head with strong coffee next to you whizzing through the videos like Abby on NCIS with her CafPow! Hope you’ve some new batteries to save your adrenaline for something else.
Put the camera out last night & rather hilariously it only recorded me walking away when I set it up then ran out of battery power & switched off. Have now inserted the new lithium ones & just placed it at the bottom of the garden, watched by Minx (our house cat). She was the one who spotted Harriet last year, wish she could spot her this year too.
Yes, it’s the semi rigid almost trellis clematis netting, very successful indeed, it’s at an angle so the holes are the right way up for birds to get in & out safely & they’ve really got the idea now. Dad used it on his bird feeder for years & it’s only now when there are so many bigger birds here that I’ve thought to copy him, saving me a small fortune in bird food & the bigger ones must be finding food elsewhere as not so many calling. Our Robin hangs on the fatball feeder, doesn’t look right somehow as I tend to associate them with ground feeding but he/she uses the other feeders too. Pigeon’s still around flapping round my head & knocking the food off the post I put out for him, the rest of them do a grand job of cleaning up the path under the feeders, not a speck of food left.
So glad Digger’s around, sounds very much as if she must be feeding hoglets doesn’t it unless she’s just trying to keep you guessing.
Let you know if we spot anybody on camera, would be so nice to see a healthy hedgehog trundling about again.
Hi Annie
920 something videos the night before last! Thank goodness last night it was back to normal again, to give me a chance to catch up. I don’t mind it now and then, because everything that visits really does get videoed, which it doesn’t always, but, even more of nothing in particular gets videoed as well.
I wish Minx would spot Harriet too. I keep hoping that one of the, hopefully, new hoglets will find it’s way there and settle in Frank’s house.
Digger is still visiting, but Rascal – who seems to be the only boy left who is visiting regularly – is being a bit of a pest and keeps trying to make advances to her. Not a good idea at this time of year. Thankfully, most days she gets here before him, so gets a chance to have a bit of a feed. I am beginning to fear for one of the other girls. It is getting on for 3 weeks since I last saw her and it is getting a bit long for it just being hoglets. I keep hoping every night that she will be back, as she was a very regular visitor.
There is still at least one hoglet visiting – getting quite big now. I see them on the cam later on, but not sure if it’s all the same one. This time last year there were loads around, so not sure what is happening this year – no smaller ones have appeared since the first three.
I walked down the garden earlier today only to be nearly hit on the head by a pigeon before it flew off! The other one, definitely a youngster, landed in the tree above me, rather inexpertly, and peered down. Haven’t seen them at the bird feeder yet – not sure they would be able to balance yet! But there have been loads of starlings. There must be over 100 that land on a nearby tree, but thankfully not all of them come down into my garden – well not all at once, anyway. They are so funny crowding round the dishes – loads of youngsters, some of which may have come from my roof. But even funnier all trying to crowd into and splash around in a water saucer together. Not much water gets left!
I live in Bristol and have not seen our regular visitors for the last 4 weeks. They suddenly stopped coming & neighbours have told me that there are a few badgers around the area. I am so sad as they were coming for the last 6-7 years (obviously not all the same ones) & I miss them.
Hi Hoglover
Sorry to hear the hogs there have stopped visiting. I can understand how sad that must make you. When we have been watching a group of hogs for a long time it is so easy to get attached to them, even if it is from a distance.
It could, of course, be the badgers that are deterring them, but it is also a funny time of year. I know, here, nearly all the males have disappeared, but they have done the same other years, and then been back the next year. I don’t know how well all your gardens are linked, but if there is any way you can extend a safe area for the hogs, that might be helpful for next year, when it is possible, at least some of them may return.
We have a hole under the side gate for them to get in & out & have got a feeding station & a hoghouse for hibernation so just hoping they return. We have a lot of interested cats who try & get at the food but without success. Here’s hoping!
For the past two summers I have had several hedgehogs coming into the garden and eating the food that I put out for them. This year it was a promising start with three regulars and a lot of lengthy, courting attempts going on, but sadly I haven’t seen a hedgehog since May of this year?? I have continued to put food and water out, but it was being left. Is this common??
Hi Nic
920!!!! Good grief. The camera has been returned to the garden here a few times & food placed under Frank’s house again but just 2 cats (including his nibs) making their appearance & a large number of happy slugs appear to be eating the food even though it’s either dry or semi moist.
Sounds as if Hognut & Hoglover both have my trouble with missing visitors, rather a worry. Feel like patrolling the streets after dark looking for hogs but as I’m blind other than light & lots of swirly patterns in one eye & lot of floaters in the other think that might prove difficult. If there are any Neighbourhood Watches around I may get into trouble too! Makes you want to know where they’ve gone though doesn’t it?
Pigeon landed on my outstretched hand yesterday & ate out of my palm, I know they’re very sociable birds but it was such a treat to have a little wild bird sitting trustingly with his perfect red feet holding my fingers. He’s now named Pete by the way, thought it was time to have a name for him. Wish people weren’t so down on them, they’re just birds being themselves & are only around because we humans provide food. Seagulls only populate towns etc because of the huge amount of dropped food people leave then they blame the birds for being there. Must say I’d prefer not to have lots of pigeon poo though! Earlier in the year I couldn’t move outside in the morning for hog poo, they were happy days.
Hope Digger’s managing to keep her unwanted suitor away from her & also the missing lady hog has returned.
Hi Annie
The camera has been getting a bit beyond a joke now. There were nearly nearly 900 videos for each of 4 nights. Even with my new system, it takes ages to weed out the vast majority which have no hogs on them. I had a backlog of about 700 to weed out which had a hog on them, even if it is just disappearing, or multiple videos of the same hog in the same position! In desperation, I have now made the setting less sensitive – so 2 nights with fewer, but with a lot missed. But I needed a day or two with not so many to try to catch up. The good news is, I finally got a refund for the other camera, so will now have to decide where to get a replacement from.
Sorry there are still no hogs there. It must make things difficult with your eyes being like that. I can see that searching the streets for hogs would be problematical. Trying to explain yourself might prove interesting too, if slightly amusing. ‘I was only looking for hedgehogs, officer – honest’.
Most of the boys from here have gone already. I checked my records for last year and they were mostly not here in September then either. There has just been Rascal and a very occasional other one. Rascal was spending a fair bit of time in the hog boxes between snacks and last night I didn’t see him at all.
The girl who I mentioned before is still missing – she is the one who used to come through the building site garden last year, so if she is still ok, she may have had such a big detour that she didn’t think it worth coming here any more. I hope it is only that and not anything worse. One of the other mature girls is missing as well now, but only for a few days, so far. Digger gave me a fright the other night and didn’t turn up, but she was back again the last two nights. She had taken to running off every time Rascal appeared! She is such a character, I will really miss her when she finally stops visiting.
There is a new hoglet! Quite big already, but smaller than the others. I don’t see the others every night now. Hopefully they are exploring further afield and not getting into too much trouble. I saw one of them last night – amazing how quickly they have grown. That one is nearly as big as one of last year’s hoglets.
Pete Pigeon. Sounds a good name. He sounds a character too. Hopefully makes up a bit for the lack of hogs there. I think the two young wood pigeons here must have taken to roosting in my tree, judging by the mess on the grass underneath. I agree with you about pigeons, seagulls etc. What should we humans expect if so many of us waste so much food and drop it all over the place.
Hi Hognut.
Sorry to hear the hogs have stopped visiting there. It isn’t necessarily common, but it does happen. There could be many reasons for this. For instance someone else is feeding them, their route has been blocked, etc. as well as the more worrying reasons. Now we are in the run up to hibernation, it may be that they won’t be back for this year (although there are often hoglets around quite late in the year) but it is possible they will return next year. It is always a mixture of joy and worry having wild animals visiting. They do their own thing and we have no control over them – which is as it should be. But it makes it difficult for us, if we get attached to them, even if it is from a respectful distance. Keep keeping an eye out, though, because if there are any hogs or hoglets still around they will be needing food to put on weight for hibernation.Hi Nic
Shame you’re having problems with the cameras, I put ours out a couple of nights ago & it didn’t even record me! Set it up in the living room when I went out today & then had a giggle watching Minx’s antics it recorded perfectly when we got home. Fickle camera.
Food & water out for hogs but no takers apart from slugs by the look of things, hoping next year we’ll have the influx again but this time they’ll stick around.
How are your spiky friends?
Hi Annie
Pleased to hear your camera is being useful. Must be quite interesting to see what Minx gets up to when you are out. Did you see that the other Annie had a hog take up residence in her cat’s kennel? Bit of a coincidence.
Two mature females have now been missing for a bit too long, one for more than 4 weeks, so I fear I might not see her again, and the other for just over two weeks, so still hoping she might be back. Both were previous long term nightly visitors. Digger is still visiting – she is looking very portly again, hopefully in preparation for hibernation and not more hoglets on the way – it’s a bit late for that now. She has been getting a bit bossy lately and nudging others out of the way at the food bowls. Surprising behaviour for the usually tolerant Digger, but I have now seen her do it several times. The two hoglets who are regulars have been growing quickly. The older one could now be mistaken for a small adult. It definitely feels like it is getting towards the end of the ‘hog year’, with all the males gone as well as 2 of the mature females.
I hope Pete is well and behaving.
Hi Nic
Good old Digger, maybe she’s ensuring she gets as fat as possible for winter & is determined to see off everybody else to that end!
Just read Annie’s piece about her cat kennel, sensible hogs using them probably more places than anybody realises.
Pete has turned up with a true baby pigeon, even younger than him. It’s still got the knobbly baby beak & hasn’t much idea about anything except flapping its wings & squealing in a high voice to be fed. Having shown it the food Pete doesn’t seem to think it needs to be fed & leaves it to stuff its little face. It was sat in the pouring rain on the fence today, completely soaked & miserable so I kept putting food out to keep it warm til Frank turned up & it flew away.
Wondering about growing a small patch of grass for hogs for next year as they like yours so much & guess there would be plenty of bugs in there for them to eat. Don’t mind if they don’t eat my food, prefer them to be using my garden in a natural way & not actually relying on me for food – which they certainly aren’t since they all disappeared this year.
Few years ago I was eating my breakfast very early morning & looked out the back & there was a baby wild rabbit in the border. Frank spotted it & took off but it disappeared long before he got there. Never seen it before or since, or any adults either.
Splendid sparrowhawk out there last week but luckily for the little birds (but unluckily for him) everybody saw him coming & escaped.
Hi Annie
Did you see the original posts from other Annie re. the cat kennel?
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/forums/topic/a-take-over/
I almost thought time was repeating.Digs (she even has her own nickname!) is still visiting, but no sign of the missing girls. The 2 hoglets look to be well big enough for hibernation already.
Where on earth did Pete find the baby pigeon. Did it think he was it’s parent? Poor little thing, getting a soaking like that, just as well you were on hand to provide refreshments.
Haven’t seen the sparrowhawk here for a while, but no doubt one of them will be back at some stage. There are usually a fair few sparrows around. Beautiful birds, though.
Hi Nic
I read the other Annie’s posts after you mentioned them. Frank is the only one using the kennels in our garden now sadly. & rather bizarrely I see slugs going in & out of one of them on the camera at night. Yuck.
Pete seems to have moved on, baby pigeon is growing & looking much better. Long tailed tits visiting the fat ball feeder, the noise of them is something to behold, you hear them long before you see them.
As for hedgehogs, next year will be better I keep telling myself.
How are your hogs, expect they’re getting their winter beds ready somewhere.
Hi Annie
Lucky Frank being able to use his own kennels! I sometimes see the slugs going up the hog house walls as well. Often wondered why. At this time of year there are nearly always several round the hog food. When I take the bowls in, they get evicted half way down the garden, but soon seem to make their way back again!
I expect you are missing Pete, but I suppose it’s good he’s grown up and moved on to the next phase of his life. You are lucky having the Long tailed tits visiting. They are one of my favourite birds. They always sound so cheerful. They love the fat balls or squares, but usually when I put those out the starlings gobble them up in no time, so the Long tailed tits don’t often get a look in.
Hog numbers are well down here. The two older missing females haven’t returned which is ominous as it was a long time ago now I last saw them. The two younger ones are also missing, but only for a few days, so far. I hope they aren’t having hoglets this late. I think they were both late hoglets from last year.
Digger is still visiting nightly. She has been getting very bossy (but gentle in comparison with the males) and quite often nudges the youngsters out the way. Once she got behind one and shunted it along – looked very funny. She also made me laugh the other night, when she got a feather stuck on the side of her face. Shouldn’t laugh really, poor girl – don’t think she was amused – but she soon got rid of it. The two hoglets (now quite big) are fun. They normally turn up on their own, but when the main light goes out they often come back together. (At this time of year, I usually leave a little bit of extra food out on the ground, when I take the bowls in). They are often a bit quarrelsome (bit of shunting there too!) but then snuggle up together and share one tiny patch of food. One or two very cute clips on the cam.
Always a bit of a worrying time after they disappear for hibernation – never knowing whether or not they will be back. I really hope some make their way there next year – and here too.
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