Dog Star
Western Thunderer
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Wildlife in the garden - Indian summer?
- Thread starter Dog Star
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Dog Star
Western Thunderer
Tony @Osgood ,
Just as long as you do not intend to give us re-runs of Fanny and Johnny. Some recommended recipes for traditional dishes, preferably cakes, shall go down well - for example:- Tiffin, Stollen, Simnel and Parkin. Maybe including traditional "bread" products such as Welsh Soda Bread?
regards, Graham
My apologies for not responding to the request for dimensions. My excuse is I've been away! Here are the basic measurements of mine. the sizes were determined by trial and error, especially the positioning of baffles, and the constricting of the entrance when a young and agile cat seemed to be able to get in. It now has an arch. the top is covered by a mesh shelf from one of those flimsy plastic covered plant stores, and I put a slate over the food bowl area as the hogs don't seem to like wet food. They have stopped coming now for the winter, so I'll give it a clean at put it
away until the new year. The timber was from the sides of an old bed base (which I knew would be useful for something!)
Nick C
Western Thunderer
How do you prevent rodents getting to the food instead of the Hedgehogs? I'd be quite keen to feed the hogs we occasionally get in our garden but, being in a suburban area, we don't want to attract rats...
Max M
Western Thunderer
Simple answer is that you probably can't?
Not so simple answer - stand guard with an air rifle and shoot the rats if they dare to approach.
Technical answer - have a door over the food that will only open if a HH is on the pressure plate that causes the door to open.
You could also have a small neon sign in the shape of two fingers that illuminates if a rat stands on it. If they are as intelligent as rumoured then they will eventually get the message.
No, no need for thanks, always happy to help.
Not so simple answer - stand guard with an air rifle and shoot the rats if they dare to approach.
Technical answer - have a door over the food that will only open if a HH is on the pressure plate that causes the door to open.
You could also have a small neon sign in the shape of two fingers that illuminates if a rat stands on it. If they are as intelligent as rumoured then they will eventually get the message.
No, no need for thanks, always happy to help.
simond
Western Thunderer
maybe an Arduino, and this.
www.sciencedirect.com
then again, maybe not
Spike Detection - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
www.sciencedirect.com
then again, maybe not
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
This is a question to which I have no obvious/scientific answer. About nine months back I started to put Sunflower hearts on the soil for Blackbirds and other ground feeders - a big failure because all that did was attract a wider range of Pidgeons. The next bright idea was to put the seed inside a "cage" of the wire style of border edging as this has vertical spaces which I thought were large enough to let the Blackbirds in and small enough to deter the Pidgeons. The second idea was a real success and I continued putting seeds within the cage for a couple of months. Towards the end of April I noticed a rat eating the seeds at around 06.00 so I stopped putting seeds on the ground and bought a RSPB feeder for "ground-feeding-birds" - I have seen no more rats for at least five months (but then we do have two dogs who hunt by smell). What happened next has been recorded previously in this topic - I found a hedgehog on top of the ground-feeder having climbed through the mesh over the feeder.
What I am getting to is this.... there are seeds on the ground that have been spilt, by tits and finches, from feederswhich are hung from poles, there are seeds on and around the ground feeder, there are several terracotta dishes of Hedgehog food around the garden... and I have not seen rats since we started letting the dogs out early in the morning and late at night.
How do I know that the food is being taken by the Hedgehogs and not by anyother animal? I do not for 100%, just that I see the hogs feeding (there are several photos back up this topic) and I see the droppings which the hogs leave.
regards, Graham
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
As yet I have not managed to build a Hedge Hog eatery of the style and quality given in an earlier post. I have, however, managed to produce a "McD" style of walk-through for the hogs that come and go.
"Technical" details..... cheap and cheerful sweet tub left over from Halloween, entrance hole about 5" across (based upon internet recommendations of holes in fences for HH highways), stability provided by lump of rubble.
Last week I found a young hog out at dusk, say 5.30ish, surprising just how small these juveniles are when I am used to seeing
the adults.
And finally, another amphibious visitor:-
regards, Graham
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
I do hope it puts a bit of weight on in the next few weeks or it's unlikely to survive hibernation.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
We have three HH feeding dishes around the garden, two are shown in the previous photos and there is a third in a secluded area under a wooden cover. There is about 250 grammes of food available across all three food bowls and, generally, about half of that quantity goes each night. I have no idea how much food a hog requires at this time of year, suffice to say that the visitors do not take all that is on offer.
AndyB
Western Thunderer
Plenty of those in our garden - we have a small pond.
Trouble is they do like getting stuck down the holes I've bored for putting the legs for the garden railway in. Having had to evict a medium size frog from the first set of holes I did (before it was entombed in Postcrete), after doing the second set - knowing that it would be a week before getting the posts in - I covered each with a slate and filled any gaps round the edges with soil.
Come Poscreting day, 3 tiny ones had still managed to get in - the smallest only about 1cm long - so the bailiffs were called into action again!
They had better not trespass on the line once it is built - they won't stand much chance against a G3 live steam loco....
Andy
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
I am not sure how much they eat/need to eat but apparently hoglets need to weigh around 20 ounces at hibernation if they are to survive it.
You may recall mention of a hog with a deformed rear leg late last year? We were quite concerned that it may not be able to find enough food to last the winter (Chris was trying to encourage it to take up residence in one of the hog houses with out success). Well the good news is not only did it survive the winter but it has positively flourished this year and has grown to quite a size.
So fingers crossed your little ones will do the same with the help that you are giving them.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
I have been trying to find information on the relationship between the availability of food, the overnight temperature and the start of hibernation for Hedgehogs.... and so far I find (a) regurgatation of sound bites and (b) broad brush comments which suggest that:-
a) adult hogs ought to weigh about 20 ounces to survive winter;
b) hibernation can start at any time between late October and early December;
c) too much food can delay hibernation;
d) hedgehogs out in December may need intervention help (call wild animal centre).
This photo was taken at about 9pm tonight, temperature is cool and not cold (say 6-8 degrees):-
I think that this is a juvenile born in the summer, the amount of food in the dish is between 60 and 80 gms., all of that food goes each night although whether one hog or more is not known.
There is a large pile of leaves about ten feet from the food dish and there is a hedgehog house pushed into the side of the pile... so there is shelter closeby (and I have not looked into either the leaf pile or the HH house).
I am loathe to reduce the food available in case the hog needs the food to prepare for hibernation.
Advice please.
a) adult hogs ought to weigh about 20 ounces to survive winter;
b) hibernation can start at any time between late October and early December;
c) too much food can delay hibernation;
d) hedgehogs out in December may need intervention help (call wild animal centre).
This photo was taken at about 9pm tonight, temperature is cool and not cold (say 6-8 degrees):-
I think that this is a juvenile born in the summer, the amount of food in the dish is between 60 and 80 gms., all of that food goes each night although whether one hog or more is not known.
There is a large pile of leaves about ten feet from the food dish and there is a hedgehog house pushed into the side of the pile... so there is shelter closeby (and I have not looked into either the leaf pile or the HH house).
I am loathe to reduce the food available in case the hog needs the food to prepare for hibernation.
Advice please.
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
We keep feeding them as long as there are signs that they are coming to feed.
It's a bit colder here so all are already tucked up in bed. We were feeding until late November last year.
It's a bit colder here so all are already tucked up in bed. We were feeding until late November last year.
Max M
Western Thunderer
You could probably add cats and birds as well as possible consumers.
We had to put out feed under a slab supported by two bricks to keep the cats out...no defence against the birds though.
SimonT
Western Thunderer
I earlier offered to repeat the odd item from the BTO. The following is about Greenfinches and trichomonosis which were mentioned here a while ago.
Greenfinch
Greenfinches were once one of our most numerous garden birds, being early adopters of garden feeders, with provisioned food being similar to the wild seeds Greenfinches prefer to feed on. However, starting around 2003, numbers quickly fell and it became apparent they were being heavily affected by the disease trichomonosis. These numbers continued to fall and while Greenfinches remain relatively common, their numbers are less than half of what they previously were when the survey began.
In the last few years this decline has slowed, and some areas are showing signs of a small recovery, especially when comparing numbers from 2022 to 2021. This could be due to successful breeding attempts thanks to good weather conditions. Hopefully, increased awareness of feeder hygiene is helping to reduce the risk of disease, lowering the number of birds which are becoming infected. We ask that people continue to practise good feeder hygiene, and if you see ill birds of any species, report any findings to Garden Wildlife Health.
Source British Trust for Ornithology repeated for education and illustration.
Simon
Greenfinch
Greenfinches were once one of our most numerous garden birds, being early adopters of garden feeders, with provisioned food being similar to the wild seeds Greenfinches prefer to feed on. However, starting around 2003, numbers quickly fell and it became apparent they were being heavily affected by the disease trichomonosis. These numbers continued to fall and while Greenfinches remain relatively common, their numbers are less than half of what they previously were when the survey began.
In the last few years this decline has slowed, and some areas are showing signs of a small recovery, especially when comparing numbers from 2022 to 2021. This could be due to successful breeding attempts thanks to good weather conditions. Hopefully, increased awareness of feeder hygiene is helping to reduce the risk of disease, lowering the number of birds which are becoming infected. We ask that people continue to practise good feeder hygiene, and if you see ill birds of any species, report any findings to Garden Wildlife Health.
Source British Trust for Ornithology repeated for education and illustration.
Simon
