Days 10 to 16 of #30DaysWild we spent setting up and testing a wildlife camera in our garden. We fixed it to a plant pot at one side of the patio looking towards a 'Hedgehog Highway'. For those who don't know, a Hedgehog Highway is a hole in the fence or other gap where hedgehogs and other small animals can walk through into and from one garden to the next. This is how our hedgehog highway looks like:
We also put out a small bowl of kitten food to entice the prickly fellows into our garden, plus a bowl of water - essential for all wildlife at this time of year.
Over the past few days, we were extremely lucky to be able to film a hedgehog on a regular basis. She (we assume, due to her size) could be seen feeding from the bowl, drinking water, shaking and scratching herself and at one time even toppling over the food bowl! It is just lovely to follow her antics and we hope she will continue to visit our garden over the coming weeks.
However, the hedgehog wasn't the only visitor. A tiny mouse made a regular appearance at the food bowl, taking piece by piece of food away (presumably to feed some young) and sometimes eating a piece her/himself. Of course the bowl was also of interest to birds and we could see a blackbird feeding their fledgling with some chunks from the bowl. The food also generated a lot of interest with the local magpies and even wood pigeons, who are both admittedly less welcome than the hedgehog. We'll see what's going to happen over the next few nights and will update on here. Do have a look again on the blog to see what's new!
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