Garden Wildlife UK

saw what you were doing, Willpar - great stuff

Glad to hear your hedgie's are still coming. Placi, I know how frustrating it is to have cats pinching food intended for others!!!!

Just coming in this evening about 23.20 hrs to see a smallish hedgie having something to eat at the groundfeeder table in the front garden. It was illuminated in the car headlights as I drove in - lovely to see they are still about and the fox isn't eating all the hedgie food!!

Things really do go bump in the night.

I haven't played it with sound yet, Willpar

Last night I saw something trundle from the bird bath into the border - it looked like a very small hedgehog but I couldn't be sure.

I stayed looking for a while hoping it would emerge from the undergrowth but it didn't.

Will keep a look-out

Could be some very late born juveniles about nuthatch. Not seen any that small here but on hedgehog street there have been a few.

At 3.30 this afternoon I happened to look out in the garden to see a medium sized Hog pottering around. It was clearly on the search for food and looked in no way poorly which is the usual reason they appear in daylight hours

So why are they mostly nocturnal? Are there any predators that would go for them and/or is it too bright for their eyes during the day or would they get sunburn on that summer day we have?

Mmm maybe it's just that their natural food is more plentiful at night

I suspect it could be a combination of reasons. Food availabilty must be top of the list and fewer predators close behind. Ironically it's most dangerous predator is also nocturnal but you have to assume when the ancestors of todays hedgehog were adopting a nocturnal habit the threat was somewhat less than today.

Cricket normally ends at 6.30 pm so after that they might as well go out .

Placido wrote:Cricket normally ends at 6.30 pm so after that they might as well go out .

That'll be it then they don't want to be mistaken for cricket balls You're a genius Placi.