Hedgehog Visitor

I placed some solar powered lamps near the feeding station hoping they would be bright enough to get some video clips in colour.



They don't last all night but did last long enough for this Hedgehog visit to the feeding station. One of about four visits it made overnight - assuming it was always the same animal.

Hungry Hedgehog

After spotting a Hedgehog a few nights ago I placed some food in the Hedgehog house hoping it would return. It needs a few really good meals to put back the weight lost during the long Winter hibernation period.. Delighted to see it came again this morning:



There was dried Hedgehog bites and dried mealworms to choose from. As in the past the mealworms were favourite.

No recent sightings of the female Blackcap. She visited the bird feeder for three mornings and then disappeared. I understand that some are resident in the UK and some migrate here at this time of year. Maybe she was an early visitor replenishing her energy before moving further inland. I live about 4 miles inland from the coast.

Three is a Crowd ...

... when it comes to Hedgehogs. Checking this morning's video recordings I was surprised to see three Hedgehogs visited the feeding station. First there were two which were wary of each other. The third visitor was very forceful in making sure it would be the next to enter for a free breakfast.



Unfortunately this video camera stopped recording sound some months ago. It looks as though all were safe and healthy in spite of the battle. It is a good job they have a thick coat of spines.

I have been keeping a watch on the camera nest box but the Blue Tits seem to have chosen somewhere else to nest this year.

Hedgehog in a Hurry

A quick movement on the monitor caught my intention. The animal was moving so fast I thought it may have been a rat. On checking the video recordings I could see it was my Hedgehog visitor rushing to check whether there was any bird food worth eating and then rushing off to the back of the garden.



The times shown by the clocks are set differently. The first in on GMT and the second on BST.

Thirsty Hedgehog

Last night my regular visitor arrived just before it got dark (no sound on this video):



That was the first of several visits to the hedgehog house to feed during the night.

Hedgehog Visitor

Well, it's been nearly a month since I had anything new to report on the garden wildlife front. The Bluetits have been visiting the camera nestbox several times every day. Always the same routine. One enters and waits. The second one arrives and the first immediately leaves.

During the spell of milder weather there were no visits by the Pied Wagtail but it has returned now the frosts have returned.

The hedgehog I mentioned some time ago has been visiting the garden every night. Yesterday I got round to fixing up the camera in the Hedgehog House.



It seems to be thriving well and appears non the worse for being out of hibernation so early.

Gardeners' Friend

Where I used to have two Hedgehogs visit the feeding station every night I now see just one which visits two or three nights a week. Early this morning the visitor earned its free meal when it found some natural food - a nice bug juicy slug.



That is one less to worry about! No sound from this camera.

When Hedgehogs Meet

There have been several times over the past few weeks when two Hedgehogs have arrived at the feeding station. The same thing happens every time. One is determined that all the food is its. No sharing allowed! The video is longer than usual at a bit over four minutes.



It took two attempts to build this video. For some unknown reason iMovie keeps adding spurious sounds while compiling so this version was made using Filmora X. The sound track uses music included with Filmora. All for free as well!

Ouch!

The trail camera caught one of the local cats finding out that it prickles when you poke a Hedgehog.

Hedgehog Midnight Feast

Hedgehog visits to the garden are sporadic so I was really pleased to get some video capture of one using the Hedgehog House as a feeding station.



Food provided is a mixture of commercial Hedgehog food, dried mealworms and crushed unsalted peanuts.

New Hedgehog House

Last Summer I had bought another Hedgehog House to set up hoping it would be used for nesting or hibernation. Unfortunately it wasn't but was needed this year as a feeding station. I had used the old one for about thirteen years and was well and truly rotting away.

The new one (much of it is made from recycled materials):



Inside view shows the entrance tunnel and the food dish I put in there:



Last year I had a camera fixed to the block of wood on top of the tunnel. Next job is to get that set up again. Will the Hedgehog take to the new feeding station? I need not have worried! First visit was last night:



Short video:



Mostly from the main video camera with a short close view from the trail camera. The sudden bright light is the IR LEDs on the trail camera switching on. Food offered is bought Hedgehog food plus well crushed peanuts and dried mealworms. Outside the house is a dish of water. Never put out milk for Hedgehogs as their digestive system cannot cope with it.

It's Hedgehog Season

Checking for any video captures from last night I spotted:



No sound recorded. Must now set up the Hedgehog feeding station ready for any more visits.

Two Hedgehogs Meet in the Hedgehog House

Not for the first time two Hedgehogs have tried to feed at the same time in the Hedgehog House. Always the same outcome. A tussle over who is going to stay and have a free meal. Fortunately only egos are bruised in these encounters. The ability to curl up and being covered in spines makes for good protection during arguments.



There were several more solo feeding sessions later during the night. For some, as yet unknown, reason the outside camera doesn't seem to be recording sound.

Hedgehog Visit in Colour

First colour footage I've captured in a while. I spent yesterday installing new security cameras and moved one of the older ones to cover the garden near the Hedgehog House. There is also a 10W LED floodlight nearby which gave enough light for the camera to video in colour - just.



The camera (a TP-Link Tapo C310) has an SD card to which it records any movement spotted. I then view and download those to the Tapo app on my phone and transfer them to the laptop. Finally I used Wondershare Filmora X to make the final video. Maybe a 15W floodlight would give less pixelling on the videos. I have a 15W one elsewhere and the Hedgehogs don't seem to bother about it.

Hedgehog Encounters

Finally proof I have more than one Hedgehog coming to feed in the garden. The first clip is somewhat grey. It looks as though the IR LEDs didn't switch on. The wannabe garden tiger may be bold when catching mice but discretion is definitely the better part of valour when meeting a spiky Hedgehog.

Not Only Hedgehogs

There are visits by Hedgehogs about five nights a week but others have also discovered the supply of free food.



I haven't seen the mouse for a while. Maybe the Fox found it.

Still Visiting

The Hedgehog(s) are still frequently visiting my garden. This is a compilation from three different cameras.

Hedgehog Update

The Hedgehogs are still visiting the garden on most nights. Usually just one, though sometimes two are seen. At bedtime last night I could see that Penny was investigating something just out of my line of sight. She kept returning to the same spot. I nipped out with the pocket Nikon and managed to get a flash photo of what had caught her attention:



They are rarely going in the Hedgehog house to feed but seem to be finding plenty of natural nourishment in the wilder parts of the garden.

AWOL

Worried and disappointed that there have been no sightings of a Hedgehog in the garden for five nights now. We will have to make do with this:



Penny's latest soft toy.

The fox visited a couple of nights ago. First appearance for about two weeks. Trust it to pick a night where the video was almost washed out due to there being a heavy mist at the time. It seems to have been one of those weeks for achieving next to nothing on the wildlife front. I spent some time trying to photograph and video a bee fly only to achieve unusable, fuzzy, out of focus results.

To quote an old political sound bite - Things can only get better.

Time for a Drink

After sampling the free meal in the Hedgehog House this hog has a drink from the part frozen pools in the old garden pond waterfall:



Near then end of the second clip the hedgehog's foot breaks through the thin layer of ice.

The title screen shows a beautifully illustrated bone china mug I bought on line from CJ Wildlife.