These were taken with the 350D. The rubber lens hood I use has the ability to distort and give a reasonable seal on the glass of the kitchen window. This keeps some of the flash away from the lens but there is some reflection from the outer panel in the double glazing. The second shot was taken through the single glazed door of the conservatory.
It was gently raining at the time and by the looks of it it had rained most of the night so I wasn't expecting much hog activity. This afternoon I decided to look through the recordings and found one hog had been in their house for a short while soon after midnight.
What caught my attention though was this group. The way they were charging and pushing each other out of the way reminded me of Sumo wrestlers. Maybe I should paint a white circle so we can see who is the winner. I can't work out whether there are three or four hogs at this time but I am fairly certain that two of them were adults.
In spite of all the argy bargy the young Hedgehog returned some while later and managed to get a quiet meal. No takers for the Hedgehog House today though.
I bet he gets his nose pricked when he barges another hedgehog out of the way!
ReplyDeleteBlimey! It looked like the one that got pushed the first time got his own back and retaliated - although it's hard to tell for sure when they go off camera. I've seen plenty of bad hedgehog behaviour but not when the victim fights back.
ReplyDelete(But no, they won't get pricked noses, by the way. They engage their frown muscles, put their heads down and butt using the top of their heads.)
Great video John. I never thought they'd push and shove like that. Fascinating to see.
ReplyDeleteHello Matron. I think they aim to get at the softer skirt and under the belly. Still looks risky though.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure GLW. The first and last charges are by the same hog (light patch top of left rear leg) but that side is out of view on the second.
ReplyDeleteThat could well be Henry. He was the bossy boots last year.
They really do go for it at times Keith. Whether it was the equivalent of stag rutting I'm not sure but they certainly weren't fighting after food as they all left the feeding area and only the young one returned some time later.
ReplyDeleteHoly Smokes! Hedgehogs coming out of the woodwork! They seemed to be so docile but now getting a bit bristly with each other ;) Fascinating behaviour that wouldn't be obvious to us without your video results.
ReplyDeleteHello Glo. They can certainly get quite uppity with each other on occasion. At least the only damage seems to be to the dignity of the loser.
ReplyDeleteNaughty Hedgehogs:-) Great video clip John:-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda. They do get up to some mischief from time to time ;)
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