Happy Spring!

I'm really chuffed to say my local hedgehogs have woken up from hibernation! X3

I had just made a new hedgehog restaurant and put the camera out and they arrived that very night!

Food has been out all winter but I hadn't noticed any disappearing apart from bit by bit as the mice went through it, but the hedgehogs may have been up for a bit before I caught them on camera.


I think this first guest is Hoggle judging from the steam train impressions and the speed he's dashing about at!



He's looking a bit bare on the nose so I'll keep a close eye on him!

This next hedgehog doesn't reveal it's identity, but from the shyness I think it might be Oggy



She looks very fluffy! I hope this is Oggy and she and Hoggle get to romance, it'd be nice to see some hoglets this year!

Welcome to Spring Hedgehogs!

Competition Time

It's the dark days of January when most of our hedgehogs are hibernating so let's cheer things up with a humorous competition.

There are 2 sets of prizes on offer:

Prize one is a Grub Pub Hedgehog Door, a sticker activity pack and a cute hand sewn hedgehog made by me!




Prize two is a Create Your Own Hedgehog Door and a sticker activity pack.




How to win.
Like our Hedgehog Doors Facebook page (using the link at the top of the page or search 'hedgehogdoors' on Facebook), share the post and leave a comment with your most humorous hedgehog encounter.

Here's one to start you off;
My dad was once sitting on the loo in the outhouse when a hedgehog ran across his foot and scared the poop out of him.
It then retreated behind the washing machine and wouldn’t come out so I had to go and encourage it out the next evening.

Prize one will go to the most humorous hedgehog encounter story.

Prize two will go at random to someone who doesn't have a story because I know lots of you are awaiting your first hedgehog visitors still.

This competition is open to UK and European residents.

Closing date is 28th January 2017

Good luck!

Hedgehog Pots!

Some of you may know that as well as being a hedgehog fanatic I'm also a studio potter.

I'm still developing my own style, but thanks to hedgehogs I feel like I'm heading in the right direction now as they've given me a lot of inspiration.

A while back I posted some work in progress photos of some hedgehog inspired pots, but now they are finally finished and I'm really loving how they turned out!

Mugs

Bowls

Beads

Bowls with legs!

And coasters

I'm hoping to develop the style further and already have a couple of more ideas underway!
If you're interested in buying any of these items, please see what's available in my Etsy Shop.

A Hoggy Education

With all my hogs in hibernation, I've been catching up on going through some videos from earlier in the year.

It's been just over a year since I got a camera trap and have been able to see what my hedgehog friends get up to at night, and I've learned a lot!

Here' they are sharing some of their hoggy habits!




This is just observation for a bit of fun not solid science, but I hope it leads some people to want to find out more about our prickly neighbours! X3

Slugs for Dinner?

It's a bit of a misconception that hedgehogs eat lots of slugs. They are often called 'the gardeners friend' for this very reason, but actually they don't eat slugs very often. Well would you want to eat something so slimy and rubbery?

Certainly I've never seen a hedgehog show any more interest in a slug than Big Bob does in this clip.



And judging from the slug invasion in my garden this year there wasn't a lot of munching going on apart from by the slugs themselves!

Information from the excellent Wildlifeonline website suggests only 27% of the hedgehogs studied diet was slugs. Caterpillars, beetles, earwigs and earthworms were much more popular.

So hedgehogs are still 'the gardeners friend' eating some garden pests even if they're not eating many slugs as they've long been famed for.

Hiccuping Hedgehog!?

Looks like Hoggle here has the hiccups after scoffing his food!
I'm not surprised, the does everything at top speed!

Hog and Frog!

Hedgehogs do eat frogs if they can catch them, but it's not easy, they're slippery and can hop out of harms way!



Talking of amphibians, while going through the summer footage I also discovered I have toads in the garden too!
Brilliant!