Monday 16 November 2009

It looks like I spoke too soon...

Last night I noticed all the mealworms in the feeding station had been eaten. (I have been continuing to put food out - just in case!) I was really hoping that a rat wasn't responsible. However, tonight at approx 9.00 pm, I noticed a dark shape in the feeding station...

Here, above, we see a hedgehog leaving the feeding station after having eaten all the mealworms.

Here is another shot. You might question why I was out taking photos of the hedgehog and potentially scaring it away. Well, as I said, it had had a nice feed already - the bowl had been emptied, so I wasn't too worried about it running off, but more importantly I wanted to check that this was an adult hedgehog and big enough to survive hibernation. For one horrible moment when I saw a shape in the feeding station, I thought it might be another autumn juvenile.

This particular hedgehog has a tick near its ear, and may well be the same one I saw shortly before the visits dropped right off over a week ago.

4 comments:

  1. Have you noticed on your first photo the hog has a mealworm stuck on his bum!
    My 'baby' is still visiting and eating....I am pretty sure he is living in my hog house as, as soon as I put the food down he is there within minutes.

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  2. Strangely enough, I came back at 10:30 tonight after a couple of hours out to find somebody had eaten half a bowl of hedgehog bites. First evidence for around a week.

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  3. Gigbird, yes, I saw the mealworm near the hog's bum. Hedgehogs are always getting mealworms stuck to them, it seems.

    Kevin, it may be because the weather has been a little nicer these last two days.

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  4. It is lovely to see one again although we do hope the hedgie is just out from its cosy hibernaculum for a good munch in your feeding station before heading back in again.

    We haven't seen one here since the last visit, about 2 weeks ago. We continue to put mealies out each night, but only the starlings are eating them. Whenever we hear a trigger, we look in expectation, only to discover it's a false trigger - a fallen leaf or something else like that, and we are both sad (for us) and glad (for the hedgies).

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