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.

Raiders in the Night

Very few of the regular birds seem to visit these days. Weeks since I saw a Goldfinch, not since a Greenfinch brought finch disease. I cleaned, disinfected the feeders and reduced their numbers for a while but numbers of all birds visiting has stayed low. I also think a local Magpie might be scaring some away. There is a Magpie with what appears to be a damaged wing spending a lot of time around local gardens. It can fly a bit and is very adept at hopping up through the lower branches of small trees.

The only activity spotted was a couple of mice raiding the crushed peanuts I put in the Hedgehog House in case one visited:

Hedgehog and Great Tits

It has been three days since a Hedgehog visited but last night one was foraging for crushed unsalted peanuts in the Hedgehog House. It was followed by a mouse and at first light a Blackbird ventured in for a quick look:



The Great Tit nestbox continues to be a hive of activity with both parent birds fetching food for the babies. If the male arrives with food and the female is already there he hands over the food to her. If he is alone then he feeds them himself:

Night Visitor

No. Not a spiky visitor yet. Just a little furry one having a quick look at the diamond nestbox:

Friday at the Flicks - A Mouse and a Hedgehog

The mouse which lives under the Summerhouse makes many visits day and night to the Hedgehog House. As we approach Winter the Hedgehog visits are less frequent. Some nights with no activity so there are usually plenty of crushed unsalted peanut pieces left in the House.

In the first part of the video the mouse is eating when it obviously hears something, stops, listens, wiggles its ears a bit and sniffs the air before making a rapid dash for home.

Much later a Hedgehog makes a visit to get its share of the food:




Missed Photo Opportunity.

Out walkies about 7 a.m. this morning. As we approached one bungalow which backs on to a field I spotted what at first I thought was a dull brown cat with a bushy tail in the front garden. When it moved I could see was it was a fox. The first time I have seen one in the village for years. Unfortunately it spotted us and beat a hasty retreat. At the same time a couple of Wood Pigeons flew up from the garden so I guess the fox was looking for breakfast. As it moved Penny saw it and was straining at the leash to give chase. Once we drew level with the garden she stopped and spent ages just sniffing the air, probably working out what it was. I have no idea whether she had seen a fox before but as far as she was concerned it was smaller than her, furry and ideal for a bit of hunting activity.

Mice Like Peanuts Too

The resident mouse which seems to live under the Summerhouse always helps itself to some of the unsalted peanuts I put down for the Hedgehogs:



It makes several forays day and night but so far I haven't seen it meet up with any of the Hedgehogs.

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie

Mice
by Rose Fyleman

  I think mice are nice. 

Their tails are long
Their faces small,
They haven't any
Chins at all.

Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn't touch
And no one seems
To like them much.
But I think mice
Are nice  

.................

Post title is the first line from the poem   

To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough

written by Robert Burns in 1785

A Wet Night

Yesterday I put the outside video camera back to monitor how many Hedgehogs are visiting so we can now see inside and outside the Hedgehog House. Of course Hedgehogs aren't the only creatures about at night:



After using Debut video capture software for a few years I finally found I can digitally zoom and pan the picture while it is recording.

I was very surprised to see there was a hog in the house early this morning (not shown on the video). By the markings it was a different one which went home as daylight was dawning.

Night Visitors

A quick glimpse of a mouse and a visit by a Hedgehog:


Night Visitors from Midmarsh on Vimeo.

Hedgehogs Aren't Small and Furry

Captured last night was this short video clip of a mouse investigating the Hedgehog House:




The Great Tit continues to make a daily inspection of the camera nest box.

Friday at the Flicks - Night Visitors

Very little of note going on here recently though I must admit I haven't really been in the mood to notice. Been feeling weary with life not helped by being in a bad temper a lot of the time.

Hedgehogs continue to visit nightly.



This one from earlier in the year when there were frequent visits by a mouse.



Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

The Night Shift

Just because the Sun has gone down and it is dark outside doesn't mean that all wildlife has gone to sleep. That is when the night shift starts the task of finding food. I have often heard and seen owls around the village but as yet they have eluded the camera. Not so with the hedgehogs. Most nights (when I remember to switch on the recorder) there is video of at least one hog visiting. So far this year they have arrived one at a time so I am not sure how many there are. Horace is easily recognised as he appears to have only one eye:



Occasionaly I see some of the seeds in the dish move as if by magic. Close examination of the recording shows various slugs and beetles which are active at night. Easier to spot is the odd visit from a local mouse:

Eek - get the bucket ready Glo!


There are probably other creatures about, not forgetting the local cats, but so far they have stayed out of range of the cameras.

A bit of a Panic and a Nocturnal Visitor

Yesterday Bobby went for his early morning walk as usual and seemed fine. Later in the morning he was having real problems with his back legs which kept giving way. I was more than a bit worried so I phoned the vet's emergency number. That goes to a paging centre where you explain what the problem is and they page the vet on duty and he then phones me. This he did within ten minutes. Fortunately Mike, the vet, was at the surgery so I was able to take Bobby straight there. On examination it turned out that he has arthritis in one hip joint which had flared up. After a quick injection, some tablets and an empty wallet we were on our way home. It took a while for the injection to work. Bobby could walk OK but was obviously uncomfortable though he does seem to have had a good nights rest. This morning he is a lot better. We see the vet again in about ten days time to see how the old fellow is progressing.



Zipping through the overnight recording from the video camera I was pleased and surprised that it had at last captured a visit from one of the animals I had been hoping to see. A little mouse was helping itself to the seeds under the bird ground feeder. All the action occurs near the bottom of the screen where the recorder puts its information. I think I will have to lower the view a bit more.



Now I know why the cats visit that area at night.