A little hog comes to visit

Here's a new visitor to the garden - or at least one that I haven't seen before.

I spied this little hog in the feeding station. I could make out that it was sitting in the
feeding bowl eating "Spike's Dinner" and flinging it around all over the place. I thought I should take a closer look to see how big - or little rather - it actually was.

As you can see, the hog is small enough to sit in the palm of my hand. Which doesn't bode well for surviving the winter. I weighed the hog and found it was 300g. I then put it back outside in the feeding station where it curled up and I put plenty of food down for it. I quickly checked the St Tiggywinkles website to see what weight hogs should be to survive a cold winter (600g) and was just about to ring them when I checked the feeding station again - and it was gone.

I feel annoyed that I let it leave, but to be honest I wasn't really sure what I should be doing. I shall ring Tiggywinkles tomorrow and ask for guidance should I see it again. I hope it returns!

22:48 - MORE... The little hog hadn't gone far. I found it curled up asleep with the dead leaves of a finished courgette plant barely covering it, just a few feet away from the feeding station. The poor little thing is now in a pet carrier with a towel and a blanket for warmth. I've put some food and water in the pet carrier for it. It's currently sleeping, and I'm a little concerned about it. I tried a couple of phone numbers - both Tiggywinkles and a hedgehog carer in Oxfordshire, but neither were answering. I'll try again in the morning, if the poor little thing makes it through the night.

The return of You Know Who...?

Although not 100% certain, I'm pretty sure that this visitor at approx 8:50pm tonight was our friend Scratchy.

Hedgehog visits seem to be getting fewer and farther between. Although I am still seeing two or three hogs each night, these last couple of mornings there has been food left over uneaten.

Tuesday night visitor

Here's a couple of sneaky photos of tonight's first visitor taken through the cat-flap!

Monday night's first visitor

Tonight's first hedgehog visitor was an early bird at 7:45pm.

There hasn't been a lot to report over the last few days. It's not been exactly busy but there has been quite a steady stream of hedgehogs coming to the patio for a bite or two to eat.

In sadder news, I saw yesterday that a hedgehog had been killed on the road just around the corner from where I live. My immediate reaction was, "I hope that wasn't one of my hogs", then I realised how stupid that was. What difference does it make if it's one of mine or another hog that doesn't visit my garden? It's still a poor little hog that met with an untimely and undignified end.

I have to say, I'm always rather perplexed at how careless motorists can be. I've seen so many instances where it looks as if the motorist must have deliberately aimed their vehicle at the animal. It's one of the reasons why I hate cars, and even more so the idiots that often drive them.

Gimme Shelter!

Friday night comes and it's wet again. I decided that the hedgehog feeding station is not enough and that another dry place is needed for hedgehog food, so I improvised this little shelter from a broken paving slab and four housebricks.

Thursday night's hogs

A hedgehog presence was maintained throughout the evening, although I never observed more than one hog at any one time. There were at least two individuals, if not three. The one pictured above I thought may have been Scratchy. I was trying to make out the markings on its back, and at one point it did appear to be having a little scratch. I like how in the above picture you can see it's gotten its paw wet and there is a little trail of wet prints from the water bowl.

This next picture shows a hog hiding in the corner of the patio (a bit of a "graveyard" of plant pots and bits and pieces at the moment) whilst I was topping up the food bowls. I thought it was funny how it went and hid nearby rather than running off into the hedge. I believe it was waiting for some more food!

So, of course, I had to give it some mealworms!

A hedgehog waits patiently

I went out at around 11:00pm last night to see if the hedgehog food bowls needed topping up and whilst I was putting more mealworms down in the feeding station, I noticed this very cheeky-looking hedgehog watching me from the hedge (appropriately enough!).

Let's have a look at that last photo again in close-up, because this hedgehog is a picture! You can see what the weather has been like by the wet fur on the hog's nose.

After I took this photo, the hedgehog turned around and went deeper into the hedge, but I left some mealworms for it where it had been sitting, and within five minutes a hedgehog (I believe it was the same one - it came from the same direction) visited the feeding station on the patio.

The hogs are keeping a low profile

I've hardly seen any hedgehogs in the last couple of nights. I know they are visiting because the food is being eaten, but they are keeping a low profile, which is a bit of a change of affairs since last week when the patio was busy with hedgehogs.

I accidentally disturbed the hog pictured above when I went to check the food levels in the feeding station. I do check to see if it is occupied but somehow I missed this little hog. What can I say? My torch isn't too bright and I thought it was a shadow cast by the brick on the lid. Luckily, from experience I know that hedgehogs don't seem to hold grudges and will return despite such interruptions.

The hogs are still enthusiastically munching away

I think this particular hog is the one that has been visiting since I've been back from Wales (see the last couple of pictures here). The tick near the right ear is a bit of a giveaway.

I went out later on to check the food levels, and found this hog at the waterbowl:
Again, I noticed, the hogs don't seem to be as quick to run off as they used to.

Still no definite sighting of Scratchy, I'm afraid.

A hungry hog

This hog, earlier tonight, was munching so enthusiastically on mealworms that it took not a blind bit of notice of me coming out the back door, standing just a couple of feet away and taking its photo. Perhaps having to fatten itself up for the winter is making it feel brave?