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[Suzi Q]

We decided to go to the pub yesterday lunchtime. It was just the type of day to sit by the log fire with friends and watch the rain lashing down outside.

Part way there I noticed a woman on the grass verge. She looked like she was trying to "shoo" something along. Slowing down I could just see a young hedgehog bustling along in the gutter. I stopped and asked if she needed help and she said that she had nearly run it over but wasnt sure what to do with it. I explained that I was a contact from the local wildlife hospital and she looked rather relieved. Anyway I picked the little fella up as there was no way he was big enough to face the winter and the fact that he was out in daylight showed that he was not in the best of health. I passed him to a surprised and slightly reluctant OH in the passenger seat and we carried on to the pub. While he went in to order the drinks I found a suitably sized empty box in the boot plus an old t-shirt (emergency supplies) and popped him in there before phoning the wildlife hospital so they could have a place ready for him. He was lovely. I would put a photo up but don't know how. Anyway, he settled into his new hutch well and at least he is safe for the winter.

The woman was worried that he might bite her!

Taz x 

YEAAAA well done you we are ALL GODS CREATURES and a hegeyhogy ohhh poor little thing bet hes happy now though  Suzi Q

[CLKD]

Didn't she know about the fleas   .... at least you have a regular contact fairly local, Tigglewinkles is miles from here  


Hope no one sustained any structural damage over the weekend, it's still blowing hard here but the rain has stopped for a while.

[residualheat]

I hadn't noticed this thread before! Lovely idea.

How nice to hear about that woman trying to get the young hedgehog to a safe place, Taz. I hope he gets on okay.

Don't know about others, but I fret over wildlife. In winter I fret that they don't get enough to to eat and in summer that they can find fresh water. And the birds, they drive me crazy...in spring when blackbirds swoop out in front of your car, it makes me shriek. I always make OH slow down because if you're doing 30mph they can just make it across.

[CLKD]

It's blowing a gale still.  Birds are flying backwards at times  ...... one of the seed feeders blew out of the tree this morning, I had only filled it a short while before so I probably didn't hook it properly.  I use long string with a loop attached to a 'butcher's'-type hook which makes it easier to move around to keep the ground below clean.

Nuts are going mouldy in the hangers though 

[Hotnbothered]

That's lovely Taz 

[residualheat]

CLKD, maybe the birds are still getting enough wild food that they haven't turned to the nuts yet. That's what they do round here.

The wind has dropped here and the sun has come out 

[CLKD]

Sometimes they go to the nuts but there aren't enough birds to make good use of them.  Sun is out here too.

[residualheat]

Where are they, CLKD? Do you get more birds later in the year, then?

[Taz2]

Birds are just beginning to come back to gardens now that their natural food sources are more scarce. Peanuts must be got rid of the moment they become mouldy as they spread a toxin which kills the birds very quickly. I have just started putting peanuts out again and the starlings are very grateful! I am watching for the first Siskin to appear which is normally towards the end of November. They will then stay till the beginning of march. Feisty little birds. The goldfinches are arguing a lot today - upwards of 25 on the niger seed feeders. I love feeding the birds but don't like the mini-forest of niger and sunflower seeds growing very busily!

Taz x

[Margarett]

Blackbirds, pigeons and bluetits are currently stripping the masses of berries off my Holly. There will be none left by Christmas!!

[residualheat]

You'd best cut a few stems while you can, Margarett! They're also stripping the Pyracantha here, bless them.

Know what you mean about the seedlings, Taz. At our last garden, the sparrows would scatter the seed all over the place and we ended up with a small forest of hemp plants! I couldn't believe it the first time I saw them all springing up under the apple tree and whipped them out asap!

[Hotnbothered]

The woodpigeons eat the berries off the bay tree and the sparrows eat the berries off the cotoneaster 

[CLKD]

I keep our hemp  ..... many years ago I had a solitary plant which I kept referring to as my 'happy plant', then decided once it was over 4 feet tall to identify it - we burnt it on the bon-fire but didn't think to sniff it  .  It's a different type to the cannabis plant.  We also grow opium poppy but it takes ages to bleed each one to get anything useful!

The birds go to the forest and fields at this time of year, flitting into the garden early morning and mid-afternoon.  We dont' have much of anything any more; until the late 1990s I was getting through 2 x 25kg sacks of nuts and 3 of mixed grain - I don't buy many nuts, no niger seed as the gold finches are 5 doors away and put out grain as and when necessary.  The chooks like mixed grain to scratch at too.

[Taz2]

You could gradually lure the goldfinches CLKD - they are not very loyal!

I get through an amazing amount of birdseed - more in the summer though as they start feeding around 5 a.m. and carry on to around 9 p.m. in mid summer. My order is 25kg every two weeks plus a robin mix and the niger seed and sunflower hearts. I have to hide the invoice 

We have a good mix of visiting birds - most of the tit family and lots of different finches, blackbirds (though they are still out in the countryside at the minute) a thrush, sparrows, jackdaws, woodpeckers and on one memorable morning a heron! Don't know why it landed as I haven't got a pond!  Also, as the weather gets colder there will be bramblings, black caps and wagtails. Overhead today there are the buzzards and the red-tailed kites being mobbed by the rooks. I love the way the kites put up with just so much bother then just accelerate away! I have a very small garden and loads of cats around so it can be a bit tricky trying to find a good place for the various feeders. Trouble is.. once you start you just have to keep feeding.

Taz x

[residualheat]

Sounds like you have a lovely mix of birds coming in, Taz. We had a lot in our last garden but haven't managed to attract as many here yet, though I was pleased to see some goldfinches making good use of the dandelion seeds I had neglected to remove!

CLKD, that's funny about the poppies. They are so pretty, aren't they. I remember reading about ten years ago of a retired couple, both teachers, who moved to Italy and were so pleased to see all the poppies coming up in their new garden. They just thought they were pretty but one of their neighbours reported them for opium growing! Thankfully, the judge took one look at them and dismissed the case. You'd think the neighbour should have known better too, wouldn't you.