"The Night Visitor"

[Sean Regan]

We had another visit by a hedgehog last night.
I'd put one of the cameras facing the hedgehog house.
There's a video of it going from right to left, probably on its way to the birds' feeding tray and this still of it, looking into the house.

I built the fence so there were only two ways something as big as a hedgehog could get through it and it found one of them.
I'd put a small plant saucer of pellets in front of the house and this had been tipped up, so paws must have been on the rim.

We're going to leave things as they are for now. We'll let it come and go as it pleases as it's obviously an adult and possibly "street-wise." There may be others.
Unlike 'arry, who was a baby when I rescued him and severely dehydrated. We always considered him, "not a full shilling," so we kept him in the garden for his own protection. If he were unhappy, there would be evidence of him trying to dig his way out. There was never any.
I was still getting stick about that on another message board, a few days ago. So I dumped the board.

I'll put some extra suet pellets in the bird feeder each night when it gets dark.

 

[Tetters]

I must warn you that if Arry gets the call of nature, he will be able to climb over the fence. That may well be the way the big boy got in. I've watched mine climb - they are pretty clever at that. You have to watch too that they don't get drunk.
A neighbour here brought one to me to look after. She said it had fallen off a wall in her garden, and she was fearful it had hurt itself. It was behaving in a belligerent way, and spent a night being quite rough and noisy. It had been on the rotten apples in a nearby garden. Have you ever seen the misery of a hedgehog with a hangover

 

[Sean Regan]

I must warn you that if Arry gets the call of nature, he will be able to climb over the fence. That may well be the way the big boy got in. I've watched mine climb - they are pretty clever at that. You have to watch too that they don't get drunk.
A neighbour here brought one to me to look after. She said it had fallen off a wall in her garden, and she was fearful it had hurt itself. It was behaving in a belligerent way, and spent a night being quite rough and noisy. It had been on the rotten apples in a nearby garden. Have you ever seen the misery of a hedgehog with a hangover

Thanks for that.


We found 'arry collapsed on our front garden in the middle of the day ,two years ago.

He certainly wouldn't have climbed out over a six-foot fence in the middle of winter. The first foot is the smooth concrete base panel. We think he may have come out and got taken by a fox, or in that very cold part of February found his house too cold and went into the old fox cubs' den under the summerhouse which he used before we bought his house. Maybe the cold got to him.

Any new fox will be able to get in and out of our garden, by this little door I made, when we were keeping 'arry in.
I'll probably take the door off.

 

[Tetters]

If he was mine, I wouldn't want him to leave either. I always think it's ''better safe than sorry'' and under the circumstances you did really well to save the poor little fellow.
If another hog is visiting, you may not have to open the (nifty) little door.

 

[Sean Regan]

If he was mine, I wouldn't want him to leave either. I always think it's ''better safe than sorry'' and under the circumstances you did really well to save the poor little fellow.
If another hog is visiting, you may not have to open the (nifty) little door.

I think they can only get in or out via the little doorway. There's a 6ft post and panel fence on all sides of the garden.
Some houses have a gap between the corner of the house and the garage as does the adjoining semi. But I built this eight foot fence and the door is never left open.

 

[Tetters]

It is a puzzle then how the visitor got in?

 

[Sean Regan]

Perhaps I didn't explain well enough.
I made the door after we rescued 'arry two years ago. It has always remained closed. Our intention was when he was fully recovered and able to look after himself, to open it and let him come and go. But after a few weeks we learned of a couple of hedgehog deaths, from being run over in our road and of a baby hedgehog found dead in a neighbour's garden. So the door remained closed. Only when we'd given up on 'arry having survived the winter a week or so ago, that I opened the door and within a few days we had the visitor.

 

[Tetters]

Aha the light just came on!

 

[Sean Regan]

Checked the cameras this morning.
The one facing the hedgehog house was activated, but recorded nothing. But that can happen if something is "too quick for it."
But the one near the back fence caught this.

This seems smaller than the one caught earlier in the week.

It might be an optical illusion, or there might be two of them.

 

[Tetters]

Word got round! They heard it was a good place to be - pathways lined with gold..... did they arrive in inflatable boats ?

 

[Sean Regan]

We've a new tenant!
The camera opposite the house, picked up a lot of videos and still images of a very industrious hedgehog moving in.

It was backwards and forwards with dry euonymus leaves gathered from those that fall on the rockery six feet away, obviously the amount of hay I'd put in there a couple of months ago was insufficient, I'll leave some more out tonight if it's dry.

It was working away from 4.00 am. The last image was just after six when it disappeared inside the house.

I'll put the hedgehog feeder out again on the patio.

 

[Tetters]

That is absolutely brilliant - it looks like you will have some little ones to watch soon. Keep looking after them, you are doing a wonderful and valuable job. Well done.
I wish more people would take the trouble to care for these fantastic creatures. It makes me seethe whenever I see Monty Don showing people how to lay soft netting all over the place - without making sure that it is safely secured. In fact, it shouldn't be used at all, and garden netting should be taught and safe for creatures. Metal is best.

It can cause such torture to innocent animals. I have experienced the aftermath.

 

[Sean Regan]

Very little activity around the hedgehog house last night. It was raining and I guess she didn't want to be out and then dragging wet stuff back into her nest.
The extension cable I ordered for one of the cameras arrived today, so I was able to set it up opposite the doorway in the fence so we can see any coming and goings.

Just a bit of broom stale some strong garden wire a few screws and a couple of nuts.

A made a cover for it out of an ice cream carton lid.

It just swings round when I want to put the card in or take it out.

 

[Tetters]

Brilliant! Waiting now for a full feature film. I shall be in the 1/9d row

 

[Sean Regan]

Brilliant! Waiting now for a full feature film. I shall be in the 1/9d row

Thanks for that, I'll be looking down at you from the 2/3d balcony.