Thursday 20 August 2009

One Darter and Two Hedgehogs

Yesterday was the hottest day so far this month. In fact it was still 21C outside when I went to bed. A few years ago when temperatures reached 30C I bought a portable air conditioning unit which has rarely been used since - until this year when I have really had my moneys worth of use out of it.

At last I had an outdoor visit from a Dragonfly. It made a change from having to rescue one from the kitchen. For quite a while a Common Darter Dragonfly kept finding places to rest. It didn't stay still for very long as there was quite a gusty wind at the time which kept blowing it off its perch but more often than not it would land again in almost the same place several times before taking a tour round the pond and finding a more sheltered spot to land.

I was intrigued watching the way it moved its head as it looked around for danger, or maybe for a mate. It is such a quick movement it looks as though it has a nervous twitch. The bright Sun reflecting in those compound eyes showed as brilliant white spots. When I think about it, with those eyes seeing in so many directions at the same time, the Sun should be blinding it most of the time. There must be something about the way their brain uses those multiple eyes. Can it shut off the signals from sections which are catching the brightest light? Or is the section catching direct Sunlight such a small part of their view that it doesn't matter?

A few photos and a video clip.

Common Darter Dragonfly

Common Darter Dragonfly

Common Darter Dragonfly



It made quite a change last night to see Henry and Honey, the adult Hedgehogs, visit the feeding area at the same time. Well - almost the same time as the video shows.

There are four clips in this video:
1. Honey arrives first and towards the end of this section sniffs and follows what appears to be a beetle - the mainstay of a hog's natural food.
2.Henry is feeding. Honey comes in from the shadows on the right, sees him, and backs away.
3. Henry still feeding. Honey comes in from the shadows on the left to have a drink of water.
4. Henry scoffing dried mealworms and crushed unsalted peanuts.



Last night I scattered a few of their favourite dried mealworms near the entrance to the Hedgehog House to entice them to that area. Eventually I will start putting some in the entrance so they get used to it. Finally I will put food just inside to get them used to entering it or maybe to entice any other Hedgehog visitor which visits the garden. One thing is for certain- a hog cannot resist dried mealworms.

19 comments:

  1. Hello John
    Great inspiration
    I should get my camcorder within the month and then dabble somewhat myself
    Regards Terry

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  2. Lovely dragonfly pics John. Good luck with the hedgehog home. Linda

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  3. Great photos of the dragonfly. I like your idea of enticing the 'hogs' to the new house!

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  4. Great photos and video of the Common Darter John and good to hear you are already enticing the hogs into their new abode.

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  5. Love that video of the Common Darter John. He's certainly alert, with all that head twitching.

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  6. Hey John great snaps of the dragonflies...and I liked the little movie. Your idea for the Hedgehogs is fabulous I hope it works out...I will be checking regularly to see what's going on.

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  7. Hello Terry. Thank you. Fine on the camcorder front. Look forward to seeing your results in due course.

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  8. Thank you Linda. We just have to wait patiently now.

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  9. Thank you Mick. Putting out the mealworms reminds me of the old saying - You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. I can but try to entice them in that direction.

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  10. Thank you Jan. The little bit of video did help with the description of how it moves its head. I can but hope a hog moves in one day.

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  11. Thank you Keith. At first I was disappointed that the dragon didn't seem to do much but I found it interesting to record the twitching head. As you say they are very alert.

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  12. Thank you Crista. It was nice to have a dragon stay in one place for a while. I also hope the hogs appreciate a snug home. Time will tell.

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  13. What a sweet little fellow ~ the dragonfly, that is! I was amazed to see its head movement, fascinating to see it recorded. I've seen many large dragonflies around here, but none have landed anywhere near. I took some photos last year of one so must hunt it out. Lovely photos, and glad to see H & H are still in the vicinity ... hopefully they are house hunting.

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  14. Great dragonfly photographs. Not seen any this year.

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  15. Hi Glo. I have only seen a few dragons flitting down the lane and that was the only one I saw land in the garden.
    Honey seems to have learned to arrive earlier than Henry these past few nights so she can eat in peace.

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  16. Thank you Adrian. That was the first I have seen in the garden this year though they always seem to be late visitors here.

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  17. So strange to read/hear of someone saying how hot 21C is! Over here I consider that temp sweeeet! Even 30C is fine, but over that it does feel somewhat warm. :)
    That wonderful d/fly is far from "common" to me. But then as previously stated I just love them!!
    And aren't those hedgehogs so precious??

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  18. Hi Pam. Here in the UK's temperate climate 30C is very much the exception and I have found as I get older I am less tolerant to the higher temps. There was a time I would have revelled in it. I often wonder how people cope with 30+ and even 40+

    I really love observing my Hedgehog visitors. They are so fascinating as they scamper about finding bits of food here and there.

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  19. I hear you John in regard to less tolerance to heat the older you get! I can certainly relate, and I wonder myself how I'm managing to cope with those 30+ and 40+ temps!! Oh wait......I don't.!!!!!!!! :)
    Just posted on my blog how the temp reached mid 30's today and Spring is still a week away. Oh woe is me!
    Thankfully we have air conditioning.

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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