Monday 29 November 2010

An unexpected visitor

You know I said I had visitors. You remember! The ones who brought the snow! Well, actually, I had double visitors.

The snow-bringers were welcome and expected. The other visitor was also welcome, but definitely not expected. He wandered over my lawn at around 10am yesterday morning, much to the delight of both myself and Gill. I immediately grabbed my camera and started following his amblings.

Here he is!


Or, at least, there he went.

Look again...

HERE he is!




It was freezing and he was just kind of pottering. I thought he should be tucked up all snug for his winter snooze by now, but my friend tells me that they sometimes wake to forage, so I looked it up on the British Hedgehog Preservation Society website, which says that a hedgehog may wake up several times and that, if you see one, you should just offer food and water and, if there are no apparent problems, leave it to go on its way.



This one looked fine, so I did just that (except that I became a bit of a shadow for a while).


He didn't seem at all bothered by my presence and was having a good old nose around, but I eventually left him in peace.


I'll keep my eyes peeled for him though.

9 comments:

  1. I read the comment you'd left on Catherine's blog and love the picture you use as your icon. That being said, I simply had to pop on over and take a quick peek at your blog (no time for longer as, unfortunately, household chores are calling!). I'm so glad I did!

    Simply love your visiting hedgehog - no wonder you couldn't leave him alone, either. Thanks for sharing such gorgeous photos.

    I'm looking forward to visiting again, soon, and I'll entertain myself with delving through your archives until you post again.

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  2. That is so sweet. A walking brush, hope he/she calls again.

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  3. Great series. Hope he has somewhere warm to sleep.

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  4. I would have been shadowing him too. Great shots of his journey. The new camera suits you.

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  5. Lovely creature. I have always been attracted to hedgehogs and tried to take one home when I was little : but my mother refused to let me keep it : "Full of fleas" she said

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  6. What a delightful surprise! I've never seen a hedgehog except in photos. I hope this little one found his way home again!

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  7. If you see him again give him cat food, it's good for them and they like it. I had one in my garden and he ate together with one of my cats that was too funny !

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  8. Any hedgehog out in daylight at any time of the year is in trouble and needs to be taken to a rescue for a check over at the very least.

    A hog out in daylight in winter is in serious trouble and desperately looking for food/water. They need to weigh a minimum of 600g at this time of year to make it through hibernation. Any less and they will probably die.

    Please, if you see any more like this, remember they are now on the protected species list as we've lost half the population in the last 10 years.

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  9. This hedgehog looks to be small and should have been taken in. He was probably starving and in need of food and warmth. Most hedgehogs are dehydrated too so probably would have needed some fluid injections. It is a learning curve for alot of people as this is not general knowledge. Any hedgehog rescue like myself would be happy to offer advice. Heidi Down - New Milton Hedgehog Rescue.

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