At last an update

Sorry all for the delay in updating.  However it's been fairly quiet in the garden (except for the birds eating huge amounts of food) plus it won't stop raining which causes problems with the cameras.

I've been playing about with the cameras and now have sound on the outside camera plus I have set up a mini camera inside the hedgehog feeding station.  The mini camera has only been out a couple of times as the 20 metre cable for it is too short and this has resulted in it having to be taped across the car park which is not ideal.  A new 50 metre cable has arrived so I can now play about with the best position for the camera.

Below is the first footage taken inside the feeding station.

As you can tell the camera and IR lights are round.  I'm going to move the camera to different parts of the box to see if I can get a better view.  The longer cable will enable this to be done. 

As you can also see Mrs Hog is now fairly large.

Below is the outside camera now with sound.  You will see Mrs Hog eating from the fox food bowls and then another (suspect male) hog arrives. She doesn't exactly welcome him.  The sound makes the video sequence more interesting.

Videos of fledging

Sorry it has been so long in getting the fledging videos posted.  But they've now been edited.  I had cameras set up inside and outside of the nest.  The outside camera was subject to direct sunlight and fairly breezy weather but I did manage to capture the fledgings and the chicks looking out of the nest.

"warning - you can see the body of chick 4 in the nestcam videos"

Eldest chick looking out of the nestbox and nearly deciding to fledge. This was 22nd May 2011.

Eldest chick fledging as seen from inside the nestbox.

Eldest chick fledging from the nestbox. Eldest chick decided to go at 9pm on 22nd May 2011. The remaining 2 decided to stay in the nestbox overnight.

2nd chick fledging at 6.30am on 23rd May 2011.

Last chick leaving the nest just before 7am on 23rd May 2011.

As you can see from the footage outside the nestbox the 3rd chick sort of plummeted rather than flew. The two elder chicks flew straight across the garden to the apple tree. Chick 3 ended up on the ground behind the dustbin.  I rescued chick 3 and put him/her in the bush at the edge of the garden. Mum found the chick and carried on feeding it.

That evening Mum was still coming in for worms and took them to the fur tree in next doors garden. I could see the chicks being fed.  She carried on doing this for the next 2 days.

Vidoes of fledging

Sorry it has been so long in getting the fledging videos posted.  But they've now been edited. 

Empty Nest Syndrome

Well the Blue Tit's have fledged.  The eldest decided to leave the nest at 9pm on Sunday 22nd May 2011.  Exactly the same time that last years Blue Tit's fledged that I missed.  I didn't miss it this time as both cameras were running.

The remaining two stayed in the nest box over night.  The next to fledge left at 6.30am.  The last fledged just before 7am today (Monday 23rd May 2011). I was outside collecting in the hedgehog bowls when I saw the last chick leave the nest.  It didn't really fly away from the box it was more of a plummet.  It landed behind my bin and then decided to get itself stuck behind the wormery. So I had to rescue it and place it under cover in the Rhodie bush. 

Yesterday I thought that it was mum that was missing and that only dad was feeding the chicks.  Now I have had the chance to check the footage it is in fact the other way round.  It is mum that has been on her own since last Friday.

Mum has been back for food and I have seen her take food to the Rhodie bush and to one of the other trees close by.  So she clearly knows where they are.

I may see them again coming in for food but won't know for definate as all baby Blue Tit's look the same.

Good luck little one's.

I'll be editing the footage as soon as possible and posting the fledging on here.  The nest cam did record chick 4 dying but I will not be posting that footage.

Not fledged yet.

The remaining 3 Blue Tit chicks are doing well. One of them has even been to the nest box entrance and had a look out. Don't think they will fledge today.

Worst news

I'm sorry to report that the youngest chick died at 10am this morning.

This does mean that when I post video footage of the remaining 3 chicks fledging you will be able to see the youngest chicks body. It is hard to see but this is the reality of these little birds lives. Only modern technology allows us to watch their lives and feel part of it.

Not good news.

The Blue Tits haven't fledged yet. There is a problem. I've not seen mum since Friday morning. Due to this only dad has been feeding the chicks. This means that there is less food being taken to the chicks. As a result the youngest chick is struggling and I suspect will not make it.

This is the problem with cameras. You get to see events that normally you would know nothing about. You then have the dilemma of whether to interfere. The other 3 chicks are doing well. If I open the nestbox to rescue the youngest I run the risk of the other 3 fledging before their time. Therefore I have had to make the decision not to interfere and let nature take it's course.

I could be wrong and chick 4 could rally but I am not hopeful.

The "cute" stage

The Blue Tit's are growing fast.  They are reaching the stage were the are looking like very cute fluffy Blue Tit's.  Mum has also stopped roosting with them overnight as they are now too big for her to sit on them.  So they are curling up together in the nestbox.

Last night they couldn't settle at all and the eldest chick was fidgeting like mad.  I suspect that those growing feathers really itch.

There is now a size difference between the first and last chick to hatch.  However the youngest is doing well and doesn't seem that far behind.  Mum and dad are ensuring that they are all fed.

Now the feathers are appearing they need to strengthen the wing muscles ready for that first flight. Without a nest camera this is something that you never get to see:

It won't be long and they will be leaving the nestbox.  They have started today (20th May) to roam around the whole of the nestbox. They stay in the nest 18-21 days.  Now the first chick hatched on 3rd May and the last on 5th May. I would hope that the time for fledging is taken from the last chick hatching but it has been warm and dry here plus the chicks have been stuffed full of mealworms and caterpillars by their parents.

So they could fledge anytime after Saturday 21st May.  I am hoping that they will fledge at the weekend but I suspect they will wait until I am back at work on Monday.  I hope to be able to set up an outside camera so that when they do fledge it is possible to have video footage from inside and outside the nestbox.

As the camera will be on 24/7 over the next few days (I missed the fledging last year and don't intend to do the same this year) I won't be able to update the blog until after they have gone.

What is she feeding them??? plus night animal catch up.

Actually I know that she is feeding them caterpillars, bugs and mealworms.  The odd spider is being brought in as well.

The growth rate in the Blue Tit chicks is amazing.  Just to remind you the first born chick on 3rd May looked like this:

Just 14 days later :

All they want is food and mum and dad are doing a great job of feeding them. Despite there being 48 hours between the hatch of the first egg and the fourth the chicks are almost all the same size.  This shows me that they are all getting fed regularly.

Not only are they getting bigger but they are beginning to develop into Blue Tit's.  By 13th May you could hear them chirping in response to the parents. By 15th May their eyes are open:

Their feathers are also developing.  Instead of being just a bundle of pink skin, small feathers are appearing and their wing feathers are starting to show.  They don't look like feathers yet as they grow with a covering over them so they look like pins.  The chicks will then preen this cover off letting out the feathers.  This stage is known as "in pin".  In the video below you can see the pins when the chicks stretches it's wing out.

Sometimes it is difficult to see all 4 chicks. But this morning it was clear that they were all hungry.

Mum and dad are great at finding bugs and caterpillars to feed the chicks.  However I am giving them just a bit of help.  In the early morning and evening I am putting out some live mealworms in a cage feeder.  The Blue Tit's are taking advantage of this plus the local Great Tit's and House Sparrows.

Fairly certain that this is the same Great Tit as last year. Certainly very familiar with me and where the mealworms are likely to be. It's driving my local Magpie mad as he loves mealworms.  So I have put some extra out by the apple tree.

Mum and dad outside. Mum is on the left and dad on the right.  Mum is fluttering her wings at dad.  This is part of the pair bonding and a way to encourage dad to get food.

Lots of chicks are now appearing. The Jackdaws have been nesting in the chimney pot on the house next door. Their two chicks fledged on Saturday 14th May. They are gorgeous.

In addition to all the day time wildlife I have been keeping an eye on whats appearing at night.  The foxes and hedgehogs have been in as usual.  My visiting female hog was in Saturday night.  She had a few ticks on her that showed up on camera.  She decided to spend the day in the hog house so I took the opportunity to check her over, remove the ticks and weigh her.  She's a great weight (1125g) and curls up into a good round ball.  Hedgehogs that curl up into a tear drop shape are underweight, likely to be dehydrated and need help.  Hedgehogs out in daylight definitely need help and you should never see one sun bathing.  If you see a hog out in daylight speak to a local wildlife rescue centre immediately for advice.

A different use for the kitchen scales.

A lot of people are concerned about foxes harming hedgehogs.  However my night time visitors get on well.

Last night I managed to catch very unusual behaviour. Hedgehogs do something known as self-anointing.  They will suddenly stretch out licking themselves. No one has a clear idea of why they do this but it seems to be triggered by smells or taste.  I've read about it, seen pictures but last night I managed to catch this on video. Pity she wasn't a bit closer to the camera for a better view but you get the idea.

Here in the Southeast it has been really dry for the past 10 weeks.  Just putting out a dish of fresh water each morning and evening can make a massive difference to your local wildlife.

As there are a lot of baby birds appearing please do not assume that they have been abandoned.  You may see recently fledged birds on the floor. It is highly likely that the parents are nearby so do not interfere. If they are in a dangerous place then you can move them slightly so they are out of danger but other than that stay back and observe only. Almost always the parents will be back.  If you are unsure contact your local wildlife rescue centre BEFORE you act for advice.

Please please please be very careful when gardening especially if you use a strimmer. Hedgehogs love hiding in long grass and many die very painful deaths as a result of strimmer injuries.

And lastly (lecture over) it is illegal to disturb a birds nest or a bat roost. There are many reports of baby birds going to rescue centres as home owners have decide to do work to roofs/lofts/gardens etc.

They are growing quick

The final total for the Blue Tit chicks is 4.  There have been a couple of occasions (in particular Friday evening) when I thought there might be 5 but it was just a wing being waved around.  Mum hasn't taken the un-hatched eggs out of the nest yet as she is too busy feeding the chicks. She will remove them before the chicks fledge as they will need all of the nestbox for room.

Both Mum and Dad are now coming in to feed the chicks. Dad will still prefer to pass the food to mum but if she is out hunting for food he will feed the chicks himself.

They will now grow at a very fast rate.  They all appear to be around the same size so this shows that they are all getting their fair share of food despite the different times that they hatched.

The video below if from the evening of Friday 6th May 2011.

Whereas this second one is from the morning of Monday 9th May 2011.  You can see how they have grown in that short space of time.  They are all able to hold their heads up better although the eyes are still closed. Mum got a bit carried away with the caterpillar as you will see.  It was far too large but eventually one of the chicks managed to swallow it.

A lot in a short time

As of this morning there are 4 chicks in the nest.  As mum is always sitting on the nest when the chicks hatch unfortunately you never get to see them actually breaking out of the egg.  It is also difficult to judge exactly when another chick has hatched.

However on the morning of 4th May I caught this on camera:

Mum can clearly be seen taking a broken egg shell from the nest and eating it.  This was chick 2 hatching.  The parent will often eat the broken egg shell.  Firstly because she does not want predators to be made aware of the location of the nest and secondly it is full of calcium so it's actually good for mum.  You will sometimes see part of a broken egg shell on the floor however it will usually be nowhere near the actual nest site.  Please be aware that it is illegal to take/retain any birds egg in this country.

I finally got a glimpse of chick 2:

Then on 5th May chick 3 arrived early in the morning:

Mum has been very good at feeding the chicks and dad will bring food to her in the nestbox.  Mum will also go out and collect food and she will do this more frequently as the chicks get older and eat more.  Dad will never feed the chicks himself.  Dad will come to the nestbox entrance and call but will only come in and pass the food if mum is there.

The chicks currently have their eyes shut.  They respond to noise and movement only.  Mum will talk to the chicks when she has food for them and they respond by lifting their heads and having their beaks wide open.  When chicks are in the nest and for a short time after they fledge they will have a yellow extended part to each side of their beaks.  This is known as the gape.  The reason for this is that birds such as Blue Tit's would normally nest in holes in trees.  It's very dark in such a nest so the chicks have wider then usual beaks in bright yellow so that the parents can see where to put the food.

Below is a great view of the large beaks:

Mum will also remove poo from the nest.  Blue Tit chick poo comes wrapped up in a little sack so it can be easily disposed of.  When they are very young mum ofter eats the poo but as they get older she will remove it from the nest.  It will be taken well away from the nest site (away from my garden) again to avoid predators being made aware of the nest site.

Watch carefully and you will see the chick move to show it's bum, mum take the poo and eat it:

At 6.15pm on 5th May mum left the nest and I could see that there were 4 chicks.  You can tell which is the latest chick as he/she has a piece of egg shell attached to its head:

Mum comes back shortly after.  She notices the poor chick with the egg shell, removes it from it's head and eats it.

As Blue Tit chicks hatch 13-15 days after incubation starts there is still the possibility of further chicks hatching today.  However I suspect that 4 chicks will be the total.  Mum will eventually remove any unhatched eggs from the nest.  As the chicks get bigger they will need as much room as possible.  The chicks are fed on mainly caterpillars.  Blue Tit's will time their egg laying/hatching to coincide with the availability of that food.  They will also bring in other food such as spiders.  The chicks get all of the water that they need from their food as they have no access to water at all until they leave the nest.

They will grow very quickly and fledging will be around 30th May.  They spend 19-21 days in the nest and will leave looking exactly like the adults.

However Mum and Dad will end up looking a mess.  It takes a lot of effort to bring up the chicks and going in/out of the nestbox does not help their feathers.  Mum in particular will look particularly tatty by the time that the chicks fledge.  The parents will continue to feed the chicks out of the nest for a further 4-5 days and then the chicks are on their own.  Mum and Dad will then get a chance to moult to replace those damaged feathers.

Hatching Day is tomorrow

Blue Tit's require 13-15 days to incubate their eggs.  All 8 eggs are still being incubating - that was the situation this morning.  By this afternoon there were only 7 eggs.

And this is why:

The first chick hatched this afternoon at c3.15pm.  This is only 12 days incubation.  The 13th day is tomorrow - 4th May 2011.  Fingers crossed there are more chicks to come.  Mum has been brilliant and has been  feeding the little one.

Any one speak Blue Tit??

I have finally managed to get the sound working on the nest camera.  Nothing wrong with the camera just the software that records the video footage messing about.  It's now solved and more importantly we have sound before the chicks hatch.  Video is great but you need sound to get a full idea of what is going on.

Mrs Blue Tit is incubating the eggs.  She does all of this on her own.  Mr Blue Tit never incubates.  With some larger birds the male takes his turn.  Mr Blue Tit will bring her food and call to her from outside the nestbox.  She will then leave the box for up to 5 minutes to stretch her wings, poo, eat and drink.  As the weather is warm at the moment she has the luxury of not worrying about the eggs getting cold.  She will also turn the eggs regularly.

The following video was recorded early this morning.  As it is cooler in the morning she won't leave the eggs but she still needs breakfast.

She will then turn the eggs on a regular basis.

No sign of Mrs Hog last night.  I cannot disturb the hog house so we will just have to wait and see what happens. Two male hogs in for food.

That's all folks

So the total is 8 eggs.  None were laid this morning and Mrs Blue Tit is now incubating.  Hatching will take place in 13-15 days so that will be around 4th May.  It is possible that all or only some of the eggs will hatch.  In two weeks time we will know.  I've also now managed to get the sound to record from the nestcam so future videos will include sound.  The chicks make a lot of noise.

Mr Blue Tit will call from the apple tree and Mrs will answer from the nestbox.  Sometimes he will bring food to her or she will briefly leave the nest and met him at the tree. Incubating eggs doesn't make good videos as not a lot happens.  Mrs Blue Tit will stay covering the eggs and will regularly turn the eggs.

Out in the garden there is a possibility of hoglets.  Mrs Hog has moved into the hod house and built a nest.  A sure sign of baby hogs being on the way.  If she does have some they won't be seen for 4 weeks.  The nest must not be disturbed as mum can abandon the hoglets or even hill them.  So there will not be any pictures or videos.

Mrs Blue Tit.  The feathers on the back of her neck are already wearing away where she keeps going in/out of the nestbox.  Once the chicks hatch and she is feeding them she will get even more tatty.

Mr Blue Tit bringing his misses a caterpillar.

Mrs Blue Tit leaving the nestbox to collect her caterpillar.

Mrs Blue Tit on the left having taken the caterpillar from Mr Blue Tit on the right.  I missed the actual food pass.  The food pass is part of the pair bonding.

More eggs - what will the final total be?

Mrs Blue Tit is still laying eggs.  Good Friday produced Egg number 7 and today Egg number 8.  Will there be more?

Number 6

The 6th egg arrived at 5.38am this morning.:

Mrs Blue Tit's behaviour slightly changed this morning.  She always stays on the nest for 20-30mins after each egg has been laid.  This morning she left as usual after that time but then returned for a further 30 mins.  I thought incubation had started.  But she then left and has only returned with some more feathers.  So I think there is going to be at least another couple of eggs.

Eggciting week

Mrs Blue Tit is doing really well.  We now have 5 eggs.  She is laying every morning between 5.30am-6.30am.  She seems to be laying the eggs c10 minutes earlier each morning.  Due to work I was not able to post yesterday so the 4th Egg is here:

She kept egg number 4 very covered so it was difficult to see.

This morning egg number 5 arrived:

Once she moved out of the way the 5 eggs were very easy to see.

Everyone is guessing how many eggs there will be. So far the guess are:

Craig                     16 eggs (I think Mrs Blue Tit will hope that you are wrong)
Karis                     11 eggs (possible)
Suzanne & Jo          9 eggs (highly likely)
Ellie & I                  8 eggs (same as last year)
Malcolm & Lisa      6 eggs (you'll find out tomorrow)

There are occasions when not all the eggs will hatch.  Last year 8 eggs were laid but only 3 eggs hatched.  So once we known the total number of eggs we can start guess how many chicks will hatch.  Mrs Blue Tit will start incubating the eggs the day before the last egg is laid.  So those of you guessing 6 eggs are probably wrong as there was no sign of her incubating the eggs today.

Hedgehogs are still in/out of the garden all night.  The fox activity has quietened down but I did catch this footage Monday  night.  Wasn't sure who was going to win this fight at first:

At the end the fox suddenly remembered that he was a member of the Canid family and therefore should be chasing cats.

Egg number 3

Mrs Blue Tit is getting good at this.  She laid Egg number 3 at 5.50am today.  She's getting earlier each day but is still laying between 5.30-6.30am.

She has tucked the nestcup into the corner of the nestbox.  Last year I was able to adjust the angle of the camera before the eggs were laid.  This year that has not been possible as she went straight from finishing the nest to laying the eggs.  I do not want to disturb her in any way plus it is an offence under the Countryside and Wildlife Act 1981 to knowingly disturb a nest.

It was much harder to see the 3 eggs this morning.  She is keeping them well covered.  The following video has been edited to show her laying the egg and then the brief glimpse of all 3 eggs.  After laying the eggs she stays on the nest for 20-30 minutes.

Egg number 2

Mrs Blue Tit roosted in the nestbox Saturday evening keeping Egg1 safe.  She will not start incubating until the penultimate egg.

Egg2 arrived at 6.10am on Sunday 17th April 2011.

Last year the female laid 8 eggs but then discarded one of them. Only 3 went onto hatch.

The foxes are still in each night.

The Greywags are visiting although the female only comes in early morning. I suspect that she has laid eggs as well.





Exciting week.

The Blue Tit's nesting building stepped up a gear last weekend.  By Monday 11th April they had started to bring lining into the nestbox.  Last year the female started roosting in the nestbox overnight on 10th April.  However she had got herself stuck above the false ceiling in the box and I had to rescue her.  The box has to have a false ceiling to keep the camera cables out of the way.

No sign of Mrs Blue Tit roosting this year until Friday 15th April.

I had put the outside camera out as normal. I was expecting the first egg around 21st April compared to last years dates.  I was wrong.  I woke up at 5.18am on Satuday 16th April and decided to change the cameras over.  I can only record one camera at a time. So I went back to bed leaving nestcam recording.

At 6.30am Mrs Blue Tit laid her first egg.

Last year there was a gap of 24 hours before the second egg was laid. Thereafter an egg was laid each day giving a total of 8. Unfortunately only 3 eggs hatched last year and then one chick died.  I'm hoping this year will be better.

Hoggies everywhere

Last night I went out to chase a cat away from the fox food. I realised that there was a hog in the feeding station as I could hear crunching. I then became aware that another hog was behind the tree. I grabbed the camera and got pictures of three hedgehogs.

Mrs Hog having a drink after feeding in the hog station.

Second hog that was in the feeding station with Mrs Hog.  I don't know if this is male or female but it is a similiar size to Mrs Hog.

This is the 3rd hog and I'm sure it's a male - he's huge!

Two hogs in the feeding station.  Pity there is no camera in there.  I might have to look into that.

Mr Hog sneezing and then rushing off to push the second hog out of the way. They are very quick when they decide to run.

Mrs Hog has left the hog house and decided to sleep elsewhere. Below is the hog house and the nest she has been tucked up in since the beginning of February 2011.

Sparrowhawks where displaying over the garden today. They circle and then fly high on the thermals. Raptors also tend to food pass but I've never been lucky enough to witness it let alone photograph it.

This a male.  You can tell by the orange/red chest feathers.

I saw the Grey Wagtails at their nesting site today at the stream close to me.

This is their nesting site.  The nest tends to be in the bank under the tree where the stream curves round. Unfortunately I cannot get pictures from the opposite side of the bank as this is private land.

The stream is clean and has brown trout in it. The banks are covered in litter that people just dump.

Won't be long.

The Blue Tit's are checking the nestbox on a daily basis.  Last year they started building the nest on 23rd March.  Due to the colder winter this year I suspect they may start later.  I managed to catch Mr and Mrs Blue Tit in the nestbox.  I suspect that the Blue Tit with the wider bands on the back of the neck is the female.  I'll know for sure once she's sitting on eggs.

The Hedgehogs are awake (well at least 2 are).  Mrs Hog has been staying during the day in the Hog House but has now decided to go walk about.  She was in there Saturday (19th). I checked the box and got hissed at.  Since then she has been visiting for food but sleeping elsewhere.

Foxes in as usual.  At least 2 visiting every night.  They don't take any notice of the hogs and even the hogs are not that bothered.

The Wagtails are still visiting. The male is in more often than the female.  That may be a result of her sitting on eggs.  Grey Wagtails have two broods each year with the first being in April.  I know roughly where the nest is but I cannot get any photo's of the actual nest.  They nest along the banks of fast flowing streams. Despite being in the middle of Crawley there is a fast flowing stream less than a minute (as the wagtail flies) away from me.

Last Friday there was a Sparrowhawk attack.  I didn't see it but there were a large number of Collard Dove feathers on the Apple Tree and one feather stuck to the trunk of the tree that clearly did not belong to the poor Collard Dove. The feather confirmed that the Sparrowhawk had attacked.

Today a Sparrowhawk was soaring above the flat.  The local Gulls were not happy and chased it off.

Unfortunately the bright sun resulted in a silhouette but shows the hawk shape and most sightings of birds of prey are with the birds high in the sky.

A lot in a week.

Activity in the garden is beginning to increase. My visiting Hedgehog is still asleep in the hog house although she did pop out for a bite to eat two evenings this week. I missed her both times on the camera as she was only coming out once a night and very early (8pm)

In the previous entry I included a picture of the male Grey Wagtail that visits each day.  In that picture he was in his winter plumage.  Below he's changing into his summer plumage. You can tell a male Grey Wagtail by the black throat feathers.

On Thursday 3rd March I noticed a second Grey Wagtail fly over the garden and call to the male.  The second bird later appeared in the garden.

This was a female Grey Wagtail.  The difference is in the throat feathers. The females throat feathers only go grey and not black like the male.  So I have both male and female Grey Wagtails visiting.  Hopefully this means that I will have baby Grey Wagtails for the third year running.

The Blue Tit's are still visiting the nestbox each day. No nest building yet.  Looking at my notes for 2010 nest building started on 23rd March.

Foxes are in as usual. They have even managed to share the food without fighting.  They have also been arriving early. Three times I went out with the food for them to find one of the foxes at the entrance to the garden waiting.  She ran away as soon as she saw me which is exactly as I want.  It is important that foxes don't associate people with food.

Flowers are beginning to appear in the garden.  There are a few snowdrops out.  There should be more but the visiting squirrel has been through my flower pots and dug them up.

On Saturday 5th March a Wren was hunting around the pots looking for insects.

Also a splash of colour turned up in the form of a Ladybird. Ladybirds are the gardeners friend as they eat aphids that harm plants.

I even have crows now visiting regularly. Historially these have ignored the garden but recently they have worked out that there is food available.

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks it should start feeling like spring.

Spring on it's way

Mrs Hog is still fast asleep in the hog house.  Even after the nice warm day we had on Thursday she didn't get up.  They say that hedgehogs can predict the weather 10 days ahead.  If so then the warm weather is not here to stay yet.

My visiting Grey Wagtail is in everyday.  His throat feathers are beginning to go black.  Below is his winter plumage.

Wood Mice have found their way into the hedgehog feeding station.  So far I have not managed to catch them on camera.

I did manage to catch some good fox footage on 26th February.  I am not sure of the relationship between these two especially as the camera does not give you a good idea of scale. However there is a possibility that this is a mother and cub.

In urban fox groups often the previous years cubs stay around and help out.  So this could also be an older sister teaching a younger cub who gets to eat first.

Spring is on it's way

It's been quiet in the garden over the winter.  I last saw the hedgehogs on 9th October 2010.  On Thursday 10th February 2011 there was a lot of heavy rain.  The following morning I checked the feeding station and food had been taken - there was a hedgehog awake.

I set the camera up and waited.  A hedgehog was definately up and I am pleased to confirm that it's Mrs Hog.  She is still slightly limping but other than that she looks well.  She was up for food Friday and Saturday night as well.  But Sunday the weather turned again by getting wet and cold.

Mrs Hog decided to stay with me. She has gone back into hibernation but this time in my hog house in the corner of the garden.  She's tucked up warm in the hay and showing no sign of moving.

The foxes are in as usual.  No sign of any cubs yet but I would expect them to still be in the den this time of the year.

And the final confirmation that spring is on it's way was the Blue Tit's checking out the NestBox on 16th February.  It's looking like they will use the nest box this year.  If they do I will keep a regular record on this blog so you can follow the up's and down's of the nesting season.