Friday at the Flicks - Ever Hopeful Hedgehog

At first glance it looks as though a young Hedgehog is trying to chase an adult away. On reflection it seems to me that the youngster is trying to persuade mother that it should be milk time:



Needless to say it had no luck but it did go in the Hedgehog House and eat some of the food that was there.

I don't know what happened to the video camera as it suddenly refused to play ball and now insists that night time will always be in b/w in spite of the extra illumination. It's too wet, cold and windy to try sorting it out as Autumn had re-arrived and looks to stay for some time.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Sunrises

Some lovely Sunrises recently, though difficult to capture on camera.

iPhone 4    Camera+

iPhone 4    ToonCamera

iPhone 4   Camera+

iPhone 4   ToonCamera

Hedgehog Argy-bargy

It is interesting to watch how Hedgehogs react when they meet up. More often than not it ends up with the Hedgehog version of Sumo wrestling. Early this morning there was one hog feeding when it stopped and listened as there was another approaching out of sight.

Enter the second one and there was bound to be a show of strength to see who had the right to feed there. The usual method being for one to charge and shunt the other out of the way:



No hogs were harmed in the making of this video, just some dented pride.

Macro on Monday - Guess What

Congratulations and the virtual gold star to TexWisGirl, Wilma, Adrian and Ragged Robin for recognising that last week's mystery photo showed part of a dragonfly:







I'm pretty sure it is a female Common Darter. There was a male resting on the same small piece of wood but they were too far apart to get them both in focus at the same time.

 


On to this week's mystery photo made from ten stacked macro shots.
Guess What:


Clue: Grab the knotted string but mind your knuckles.

No prizes. Just for fun. Any guesses left in the comments will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Little and Large (Hedgehogs)

Occasionally two Hedgehogs are feeding at the same time. This time a juvenile was eating inside the Hedgehog House when an adult turned up. When the youngster left the house and saw the adult it was very cautious and decided to make for pastures new. It looks as though the adult made sure the little one continued on its away:



Yesterday I had zoomed the outside camera for a bit closer coverage outside the Hedgehog House. Most of the IR LEDs on the camera are covered with electrical tape. There are 5 waterproof 1W lamps just above the slabs which enables the camera to work in colour.

Roosting Great Tit - Video

I was quite surprised yesterday evening when the Great Tit used the nestbox as a roost, mainly as the temperature was 18C so it wasn't for warmth. Must be a case of squatters rights!



Going by past experience this is probably a female Great Tit. Yesterday she spent some time in the box examining it and what looked to be calling for the male to join her. An activity I have seen in the past.

Juvenile Goldfinches

I don't ever remember seeing juvenile Goldfinches this late in the year. I guess they have raised a second clutch of eggs this year. The young one on the right looks to me to have recently fledged:



You can tell the young Goldfinches by the missing or patchy red on top of their heads:



Here a Greenfinch is just launching itself to drop down to another feeder:


A bit of video taken yesterday with the Canon 50D running Magic Lantern.
Towards the end one decided that the queue was too long for the feeder so dropped down to try some dandelion seeds.



The black with white blobs always makes me think they are wearing a tail coat ready for a formal dinner.