Forum home› Wildlife gardening

Hedgehogs.

skyrunnerskyrunner Posts: 33
in Wildlife gardening

My 8ft by 8ft garden shed was erected on concrete base, but on top of breeze blocks, leaving many gaps between for wind ect to blow through. this was some 8 years ago. over August Bank Holiday after dark my wife was beside the shed, when hedgehog shuffled past, smelt her feet, and departed in haste. Middle of last month, commenced putting dried catfood down in a dish under shed out of reach from cats, etc, and put my camcorder on to record once dusk. This will use both cards for 12 hrs. Fantistic viewing, food and drink consumed each night, and last night even some of the barley bedding removed and taken under shed. I can actually identify 3 individuals, due to fact that all have differing white markings.

Is this unusual to have three known individuals in a garden some 200 ft long, with two taking bedding under my shed.

Suppose over winter I'll have to wear slippers, so as not to disturb their sleep over!!!

«13

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 21,676

    How lovely, lucky you, think of all the slugs you won't have!

    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,150

    I'm envious, no hedgehogs here for years. 

     



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 83,787

    Hi Skyrunner - aren't they fascinating creatures, we regularly have  two, sometimes 3 visiting feeding stations here in our small garden (only about 12 x 12m) and two hibernated in our garden in wooden shelters last winter, one the winter before.  We've made sure they can get  from our garden to other ones as hedgehogs actually range quite widely for such small animals, and of course need to meet up from time to time, even if they're not really social creatures.  

    We put out a mix of hedgehog biscuits, chopped bird peanuts, sunflower hearts, dried mealworms and chopped banana chips and we also find that a small dish of fresh rainwater is drunk every evening.

    Lots of helpful info here http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/hedgehog-street.html


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • gardenjeanniegardenjeannie Posts: 360

    Oh, Skyrunner, lucky you. I have only seen one live hedgehog since I moved to Scotland 7 yrs ago. Was just talking to a neighbourthe other night, and he told me that there used to be numerous in our tiny hamlet of about 20 houses, but another neighbour's terrier used to kill them, and they have never been back. Any chance of posting your film on a site with a link to all us interested parties?  Maybe on youtube or dropbox or something similar?

    Saw lots back down in England, but that was before I had enough space to really get the 'gardening bug', and I just took it for granted that they were around, and sometimes saw them while driving or walking the dog. Miss them, now i can appreciate them.

  • flowersforbeesflowersforbees Posts: 221

    Hi - My two hedhehogs haven't eaten their food the last two nights - first time

    they haven't cleaned the dish out for two or three months.  Do you think they

    have already gone into hibernation?  I thought it was a bit early for that yet?

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 83,787

    Ours are the same - think the wet weather we've had here over the past two nights have brought out the worms and slugs so they're tucking in to those.  Same thing happened this time of year last year.  Last year ours didn't go into hibernation until December - they need the fallen leaves to build their hibernacula and the leaf-drop has hardly started.  I keep putting the food out for a good while yet - if they've not eaten it overnight I put it out for the birds.

    We've found that when the leaves have fallen we see our hedgehogs out during the day gathering leaves - presumably because that's when they're dry - the leaves are quite wet overnight and a nest made of wet leaves wouldn't be warm and cosy.


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • AbifloralartistAbifloralartist Posts: 13

    You lucky devil - I had a beautiful hedgehog a few years ago but when they renovated the flats I think the disturbance made him decide neighbours too noisy, no sign of any since image.  Have tried putting hidy holes in the garden and leaving lots of areas of foliage where worms etc live but guess we just annoyed him too much!

  • flowersforbeesflowersforbees Posts: 221

    Thanks Dove - It's very wet here too,so hope they're tucked up nice and

    warm!  Will keep putting out the food as you suggest!  image

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,277
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • skyrunnerskyrunner Posts: 33

    I've just made a short video clip, from the other night. lasts 1 min 30 secs. In process of making a longer one, incl frog hoping across and bouncing into perspex, looked puzzled, spiders dangling in front of camera, and odd moggie.Not sen our mouse family though.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOYPnDFIytA

    The area where camcorder is videoing, is basically an extension of my shed, another 8ft x 8ft. Frame of wood, with corrugated perspex, around the 3 sides and roof, but minus any doors, just a wooden gate to allotment area, (righthand side in video, left side from hause and garden), so open to wind cold etc, but not rain. Keep a variety of overwintwering plants, and summer time, we eat out here in the evenings, as faces west.

    Tonight when I went to shed to switch on camcorder at 8pm, yes hedgehog 2 (whitish haunches) was already coming under the gate, but no still camera. Typical!!!

    Enjoy

Sign In or Register to comment.