The night after moving into 9a in the back garden, Quattro was battered by Tog, and he seems to have decided that the risk of being manhandled by humans is not as bad as being attacked by another hedgehog, as he only spent that one night and day in 9a before moving back into 9f, where he has been lodging since. The nest box there is quite tightly packed with straw, as it had been prepared for a hibernating hedgehog, in case one felt the need for accommodation, and Quattro now seems to be tunnelling into it. During the day he seems to be quite busy, and there seems to be quite a lot of straw finding its way into the tunnel and even outside.
He seems quite lazy, just getting up for a snack every so often during the evening, before going back to bed again, perhaps having nipped out for a drink and a trip to the loo. He finally goes out about 1 or 2 am, getting back about 5:30, just as it is starting to get light. Last night he left 9f about 1:30, and appeared at the ATM about 20 minutes later. Unfortunately, he'd only got about a metre into the garden (just out of sight of the ATM cam) when he was attacked by Tog. He left again.
Tog was in fine fettle - he'd just finished sorting out our newest visitor. We have noticed over the last couple of days that Twearly walks straight past 9e - he seems to have had too many bad experiences around there with Tog, and Quattro hadn't arrived, so we were surprised to see a hedgehog eating in 9e. Tog was also surprised, and went to sort him out. Tog dashed in to 9e and the newcomer curled up. Unfortunately, Tog was trying to push him out of the door, but couldn't as he was too big curled up. We had visions of them being stuck there all night, when the only way to get out was to let the new chap uncurl, and Tog wouldn't let him. However, Tog is quite a smart cookie and after a short time pushed him away from the door, and Tog went for a drink.
Tog then went out via the ATM, meeting Quattro on the way. Meanwhile, the newcomer went down to the water for a drink before heading for the 9a feeder - obviously another of last year's regulars who knows his way around.
With Tog out of the garden, Quattro headed down for the water. He'd only been there a few minutes when his nose went up in the air and he started sniffing - and headed off in the direction of 9a.
We thought this was going to a nice friendly meeting, right in front of the Tunnelcam. Unfortunately, we realised this was not to be when the newcomer "frowned" in the direction of Quattro - and Quattro sent him flying. After a major tussle Quattro won.
We'll be giving the newcomer a check-up when we can.
Two nights ago we gave Tog his second check-up, to see how he was doing. He was eating by the water in the new bowl, and he didn't curl up, even when he was first picked up. He did curl up as we brought him in, but uncurled fairly soon, and we confirmed that he is, indeed, as boy. He weighed 1185g, compared 1060g when we first checked him on 5th March. We removed a large tick from his nose, and touched up his paintwork before replacing him.
We now have four hedgehogs visiting. We haven't seen Bailout, and we don't seem to have Alfie yet, as we are sure that he would head straight for 9b, so we could be getting quite busy this year.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Discretion, the better part of Valour
Two nights ago, the third hedgehog to emerge from hibernation walked into our garden - and an ambush by Tog, the second, rather aggressive, hedgehog to appear this year. Poor Number Three got really set about, and he rapidly exited the garden. He reappeared shortly after, and managed to sneak into 9e for a meal. Unfortunately, he was only in for a few minutes before Tog returned and plastered him on the back wall of the feeding station.
He left the garden shortly after. A little while later, a hedgehog appeared round the front of the house, and moved into 9f (left) nest box there.
Careful analysis of the videos, and a large tick behind the right ear, confirmed that the hedgie at the front was, in fact, Number Three from the back. He had apparently decided he'd had enough of Tog. The way he arrived at the front and dashed into the nest under the nose of a cat convinced us that he had stayed there last year.
In accordance with this year's decision to keep better track of our visitors, we decided to give this chap a check up. He stayed in 9f for two days. He had been out and about foraging, so when he came out again last night, we grabbed him.
He weighed 955g, was confirmed as a little boy, and his lengthwise circumference was 53cm, his side circumference was 48cm, so, not surprisingly, he is underweight. He has been tucking in to mealworms and foraging, so hopefully he will start to put weight on.
We saw five ticks on him, and managed to remove three of the horrible things.
We then marked him, four white spots on his rear, and after toying with the idea of calling him Trio, settled on Quattro, after rejecting Audie. Just to remind you, although he is the third hedgehog to emerge this year, we are still hoping that little Bailout, who we marked with a single spot, will have made it through hibernation.
We were worried that we had frightened him away from 9f, and although he was in and out throughout the night, we were concerned to find 9f empty this morning.
We were, however, surprised to see a resident in 9a! Checking back through the videos, he went into 9a about 06:00, and it is, indeed, Quattro. We wonder if he has decided to take his chances with Tog in preference to the indignity of having his rear end painted, but it is possible he just decided on a change of scenery, particularly as it was getting light. The way he approached the nest box showed he knew exactly where it was. He had walked past it the night before without showing any interest, but we think he must have been one of last year's lodgers.
Any bets where he will stay tonight?
To try and reduce the congestion and fights in 9e, we have filled the lawn feeder up, about 6 feet away. We noticed Twearly paused by 9e last night but didn't go in, and ate on the lawn feeder instead, so it appears Tog's managing to reserve all the food there.
He left the garden shortly after. A little while later, a hedgehog appeared round the front of the house, and moved into 9f (left) nest box there.
Careful analysis of the videos, and a large tick behind the right ear, confirmed that the hedgie at the front was, in fact, Number Three from the back. He had apparently decided he'd had enough of Tog. The way he arrived at the front and dashed into the nest under the nose of a cat convinced us that he had stayed there last year.
In accordance with this year's decision to keep better track of our visitors, we decided to give this chap a check up. He stayed in 9f for two days. He had been out and about foraging, so when he came out again last night, we grabbed him.
He weighed 955g, was confirmed as a little boy, and his lengthwise circumference was 53cm, his side circumference was 48cm, so, not surprisingly, he is underweight. He has been tucking in to mealworms and foraging, so hopefully he will start to put weight on.
We saw five ticks on him, and managed to remove three of the horrible things.
We then marked him, four white spots on his rear, and after toying with the idea of calling him Trio, settled on Quattro, after rejecting Audie. Just to remind you, although he is the third hedgehog to emerge this year, we are still hoping that little Bailout, who we marked with a single spot, will have made it through hibernation.
We were worried that we had frightened him away from 9f, and although he was in and out throughout the night, we were concerned to find 9f empty this morning.
We were, however, surprised to see a resident in 9a! Checking back through the videos, he went into 9a about 06:00, and it is, indeed, Quattro. We wonder if he has decided to take his chances with Tog in preference to the indignity of having his rear end painted, but it is possible he just decided on a change of scenery, particularly as it was getting light. The way he approached the nest box showed he knew exactly where it was. He had walked past it the night before without showing any interest, but we think he must have been one of last year's lodgers.
Any bets where he will stay tonight?
To try and reduce the congestion and fights in 9e, we have filled the lawn feeder up, about 6 feet away. We noticed Twearly paused by 9e last night but didn't go in, and ate on the lawn feeder instead, so it appears Tog's managing to reserve all the food there.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Tog is getting really nasty
We saw considerable aggression from Tog against poor Twearly a fews night ago. We saw even more violence against Number Three, the third hedgehog to come out of hibernation.
Number Three had just arrived in the garden, when he was set on by Tog. At the start of the video, you can see Tog rolling him down towards 9e. At one point, Tog seems to be holding the other hedgie in his mouth and be shaking him. We've only seen hedgehogs pushing each other before.
Every time Number Three moves, Tog sorts him out.
Watch the bottom of the screen at 9:40 into the video (real time 00:03:30), as Twearly zips past - he doesn't want to get caught by Tog.
Eventually, poor Number Three gives up and leaves the garden. He returned a short while later after Tog had left 9e. Unfortunately, he'd only just started eating when Tog returns and plasters him up against the back wall:
This clip shows the action from inside 9e. It starts slightly later than the last clip, with Number Three munching away. Watch for the shadow as Tog arrives.
Number Three had just arrived in the garden, when he was set on by Tog. At the start of the video, you can see Tog rolling him down towards 9e. At one point, Tog seems to be holding the other hedgie in his mouth and be shaking him. We've only seen hedgehogs pushing each other before.
Every time Number Three moves, Tog sorts him out.
Watch the bottom of the screen at 9:40 into the video (real time 00:03:30), as Twearly zips past - he doesn't want to get caught by Tog.
Eventually, poor Number Three gives up and leaves the garden. He returned a short while later after Tog had left 9e. Unfortunately, he'd only just started eating when Tog returns and plasters him up against the back wall:
This clip shows the action from inside 9e. It starts slightly later than the last clip, with Number Three munching away. Watch for the shadow as Tog arrives.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Looking back to 2010
We clean out the nest boxes each year, when we are expecting the hedgehogs to come out of hibernation. We keep an eye on them during the year and if we suspect they are getting a bit grotty inside we will give them a clean during the summer, but when a hedgehog is in residence it is difficult, and we don't like to disturb them, so the cleaning only takes place during a change of tenant in normal circumstances.
We cleaned all the nest boxes in the autumn, when all the hedgies had hibernated, but we leave plenty of nest material in case we have one looking for accommodation during the winter. We also give them a clean in the spring, since they could have suffered over the winter. When we clean the old bedding out, we normally leave the boxes empty for a few days, to let them "air" with the roof off during the day if the weather is good. We cleaned 9b out today, since we are expecting lodgers soon - we wonder if Alfie has made it through the winter, and if so if he will move back into 9b, his home for the whole of last season.
It reminded us of Alfie's arrival last year - on the 6th April, almost a month later that the first hedgies arrived this year.
We mistimed the clean out last year. When Alfie arrived, 9b was completely empty, except for the remote sensing thermometer. The poor chap looked rather bewildered, as if he couldn't believe there was no bedding. He even lays down for a ten minute nap - but goes out.
The next day we put the bedding in - and when Alfie returned the next night he moved in, and stayed every night until he left the garden to go into hibernation in September.
Let's hope Alfie returns this year. We got very fond of the little chap (he wasn't so little by the autumn!)
We cleaned all the nest boxes in the autumn, when all the hedgies had hibernated, but we leave plenty of nest material in case we have one looking for accommodation during the winter. We also give them a clean in the spring, since they could have suffered over the winter. When we clean the old bedding out, we normally leave the boxes empty for a few days, to let them "air" with the roof off during the day if the weather is good. We cleaned 9b out today, since we are expecting lodgers soon - we wonder if Alfie has made it through the winter, and if so if he will move back into 9b, his home for the whole of last season.
It reminded us of Alfie's arrival last year - on the 6th April, almost a month later that the first hedgies arrived this year.
We mistimed the clean out last year. When Alfie arrived, 9b was completely empty, except for the remote sensing thermometer. The poor chap looked rather bewildered, as if he couldn't believe there was no bedding. He even lays down for a ten minute nap - but goes out.
The next day we put the bedding in - and when Alfie returned the next night he moved in, and stayed every night until he left the garden to go into hibernation in September.
Let's hope Alfie returns this year. We got very fond of the little chap (he wasn't so little by the autumn!)
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.
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.
Psycho the Hedgehog
We have been observing the hedgehogs visiting our garden since 2008, and have seen that they have a range of personalities. The two visitors we have at the moment come from opposite ends of the spectrum. Twearly, the first hedgehog to come out of hibernation, seems to be quite a confident little chap, on his own. But put him next to the second hedgehog to appear, Tog, and you get the distinct feeling we should have marked him with a yellow stripe instead of two white spots.
Tog, on the other hand, is showing such aggression that we're wondering if we should rename him/her Psycho. A little pushing and shoving is not unusual when hedgehogs meet, but Tog seems to be taking it to a whole new level. Here is poor Twearly being forcibly ejected from 9e:
Tog is not satisfied with just ejecting poor Twearly - when Twearly recovers and starts moving Tog comes out of 9e and attacks again. Poor Twearly.
We wonder if Twearly is unusually timid. There was a regular visitor last year, who we think was Twearly, and he let all the other hedgehogs walk all over him, sometimes literally. If there was a hedgie feeding on the ATM, other hedgehogs would simply push through, knocking the other hedgie out of the way. We once saw the timid one wait patiently for ten minutes outside the ATM, and in the end he gave up and went the long way round under the decking.
An even more extreme example of Tog's behaviour is this one:
Tog wanders up to the bowl outside 9a and starts feeding. He then hears Twearly somewhere at the top of the garden - and goes to see him off, before returning to continue eating.
It will be interesting to see what happens when more hedgehogs arrive...
Just to show Twearly doesn't always come off worst, here is a clip from a couple of nights ago, when he meets a cat:
and here he has a paddle in water that is almost freezing:
Tog, on the other hand, is showing such aggression that we're wondering if we should rename him/her Psycho. A little pushing and shoving is not unusual when hedgehogs meet, but Tog seems to be taking it to a whole new level. Here is poor Twearly being forcibly ejected from 9e:
Tog is not satisfied with just ejecting poor Twearly - when Twearly recovers and starts moving Tog comes out of 9e and attacks again. Poor Twearly.
We wonder if Twearly is unusually timid. There was a regular visitor last year, who we think was Twearly, and he let all the other hedgehogs walk all over him, sometimes literally. If there was a hedgie feeding on the ATM, other hedgehogs would simply push through, knocking the other hedgie out of the way. We once saw the timid one wait patiently for ten minutes outside the ATM, and in the end he gave up and went the long way round under the decking.
An even more extreme example of Tog's behaviour is this one:
Tog wanders up to the bowl outside 9a and starts feeding. He then hears Twearly somewhere at the top of the garden - and goes to see him off, before returning to continue eating.
It will be interesting to see what happens when more hedgehogs arrive...
Just to show Twearly doesn't always come off worst, here is a clip from a couple of nights ago, when he meets a cat:
and here he has a paddle in water that is almost freezing:
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Who is Bailout?
We've just replied to Midmarsh John's comment on the previous post, and mentioned Bailout the Hedgehog, but looking back at the last post from last year I realised that we hadn't given the hedgehog a name at the time of the post, but this was the hedgehog we called Bailout.
We spent a week in Ireland visiting family in the middle of November, and returned to find all of the mealies we'd left out, both in the back garden and at the front by 9f, had been eaten. A check through the cameras for the week we were away showed that a hedgehog had arrived on 17th November. Fortunately, he'd only finished off the last of the mealies at the front the night before we arrived home, so we were able to replenish the bowls both front and back.
When he came in that night we grabbed him to check him over, and found that he weighed about 500g - too small to hibernate safely, but as he was still feeding regularly, and we now were providing extra food, we let him be. We marked him with a single spot on his rear. Now you know why Twearly has two spots - we hope Bailout will reappear shortly.
We decided to call the new visitor Bailout, in honour of Ireland's bailout from the EU, and the little chap continued to visit for another couple of weeks. A week after we first checked him, we checked his weight again, and he was up to 595g, so he was apparently feeding well.He visited several times each night, with a couple of hours gap between visits. Interestingly, after we started providing food in the back garden again, he stopped visiting the front, so it would seem that he only visited the front after he ran out of food at the back, also perhaps a sign that he was finding very little else to eat.
November was getting very cold (we had snow at the end of the month) and we were worried that he should be hibernating, but we left the decision of when to hibernate up to him. He was still feeding and had put on weight, so we thought he would know best. We did try putting him into 9f, where Indy hibernated last winter, but he stayed for about an hour and shortly after reappeared in the back garden, so we think he felt his own winter quarters were better.
Finally, one night his visits changed - he was in for a few minutes every half hour or so, and we got the feeling that this was his last night. Sure enough, that was the last we saw of him. We hope he had indeed found somewhere safe to hibernate, and that we'll be seeing him soon.
Here's a composite video of him:
We spent a week in Ireland visiting family in the middle of November, and returned to find all of the mealies we'd left out, both in the back garden and at the front by 9f, had been eaten. A check through the cameras for the week we were away showed that a hedgehog had arrived on 17th November. Fortunately, he'd only finished off the last of the mealies at the front the night before we arrived home, so we were able to replenish the bowls both front and back.
When he came in that night we grabbed him to check him over, and found that he weighed about 500g - too small to hibernate safely, but as he was still feeding regularly, and we now were providing extra food, we let him be. We marked him with a single spot on his rear. Now you know why Twearly has two spots - we hope Bailout will reappear shortly.
We decided to call the new visitor Bailout, in honour of Ireland's bailout from the EU, and the little chap continued to visit for another couple of weeks. A week after we first checked him, we checked his weight again, and he was up to 595g, so he was apparently feeding well.He visited several times each night, with a couple of hours gap between visits. Interestingly, after we started providing food in the back garden again, he stopped visiting the front, so it would seem that he only visited the front after he ran out of food at the back, also perhaps a sign that he was finding very little else to eat.
November was getting very cold (we had snow at the end of the month) and we were worried that he should be hibernating, but we left the decision of when to hibernate up to him. He was still feeding and had put on weight, so we thought he would know best. We did try putting him into 9f, where Indy hibernated last winter, but he stayed for about an hour and shortly after reappeared in the back garden, so we think he felt his own winter quarters were better.
Finally, one night his visits changed - he was in for a few minutes every half hour or so, and we got the feeling that this was his last night. Sure enough, that was the last we saw of him. We hope he had indeed found somewhere safe to hibernate, and that we'll be seeing him soon.
Here's a composite video of him:
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