Thursday 10 March 2011

Number three - and our first lodger

Uploads to YouTube can be rather slow, particularly when they are large files, and the clips I was uploading for the previous post hadn't completed by bed time, so I logged in this morning to add them to the blog. As I was typing, I saw a twitch of the straw in 9f (left), one of the semi-detached nest boxes in the boiler room at the front. I watched, and the twitch resolved itself into... a hedgehog. We have our first lodger of the year.

A quick rewind through the videos indicate it arrived around 1:44, going into 9f at 1:51 after eating a few mealies, and had been in and out of the box several times since then. There was at least one occasion when it came out of 9f (left), along the tunnel behind the door, and put its nose into the entrance of 9f (right) before turning round and going back to bed. Could it be that Indy, the indecisive hedgehog who lived in 9f over the 2009/10 winter and up to about July last year, has returned? It is unmarked, so it is not Twearly or Tog.

Watch as he dashes into the boiler room, right under the nose of the cat.



We did see a third hedgehog in the back garden last night. It came up the alley and in to the ATM. It looked a bit bewildered as there was no food on the ATM steps like there was last year. We have decided not to put food on the ATM this year, as it was so congested last year. So, the hungry little chap headed for 9e. Unfortunately, just as he arrived there, so did Psycho, sorry Tog, and the newcomer got a right "seeing to". It appears to be quite a bit larger than Tog, because Tog was struggling to push it out of the way. Tog went in for a feed, but as soon as number 3 uncurled Tog went out to sort it out. Twearly then wandered up - but having realised what was going on turned round and went away. After a while number three left the garden. Fortunately, he returned a little later after Tog had moved on, and he managed to get something to eat and drink.

What we don't know yet is if number three is the chap who has now turned up in 9f. We will try and give him/her a check up tonight.

2 comments:

  1. Things do seem to be hotting up there. Just the opposite here. H gradually reduced the number of visits and was AWOL last night.

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  2. We are sorry to hear your H has reduced his/her visits. Hopefully it is only a blip. Our visitors have not settled in to a regular routine yet - the night before last, TOG arrived before 20:00. Last night, no one appeared until 23:20 and then Twearly, TOG and the new one all turned up within 5 mins. We wonder if they go looking for their friends, to see if they are awake yet, or in the case of TOG, someone to challenge and tussle with.

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