To ask you to please help hedgehogs and other wildlife prepare for winter

[Pricklesinperil]

It is literally a lifeline for them as the weather gets warmer.

if you’d like to know about other ways to help, please go to Help hedgehogs

thank you

Note from MNHQ - please do read the Op's latest update (October 2022) before responding.

I have a shallow bird water bowl already so they've always had fresh water available if they do come here.

I made a little box type thing tonight with a small opening and put some cat food in it. Fingers crossed it's gone tomorrow 🤞

Or I suppose it may take them a while to find it, so I'll keep trying over the coming weeks anyway just in case.

Yay just saw “my” hog! Managed to get a pic but as I went in to take it I could see s/he wasn’t comfortable and was starting to curl up… so a lovely clear picture of its back😀

Got fresh water out and just topped up the hog dish, just gotta hope the cats/magpies don’t get it first…

Brilliant! Fingers crossed that all your hard work attracts hedgehogs!

@Lonelycrab how marvellous! Thank you for posting the picture. And thank you for caring and helping hedgehogs. 🦔 🦔

sorry if I’m repeating, if you haven’t already, please log your sighting on the hedgehog map Hedgehog Street Big Hedgehog Map

Lovely Lonelycrab.

My hedgehog feeding box was a complete disaster. The foxes turned it on its side and managed to tip the food out.

I've weighed it down with a couple of slabs tonight so hopefully the foxes won't be able to get to it.
I wouldn't mind but I feed the foxes already, greedy little sods.

😀 how greedy and ungrateful of those foxes @RichardOsmansXraySpecs Especially as you make a special effort to feed them too.

I had the same issue, in the end, I bought two of these, the curved tunnel means only hedgehogs can enter. Even then, I had to put a brick on the top and position it carefully because the foxes were reaching their paws in around the curve and pulling out the food dish! Hogilo

I’ve not had any takers for the food for the last two nights, so I don’t think there are any hedgehogs around here at the moment. Maybe I should try again in the autumn when they probably venture further afield looking for food?

Our hedgehog food and water is disappearing every night! I’m hoping that it means there are two hedgehogs and that it isn’t the local fox or a rat taking it 🤞🤞

Oh not had my takers yet @RichardOsmansXraySpecs? I think you said that you’d found sightings nearby on the big hedgehog map and that you were sure you’d heard them last year?

They must be nearby. Can they access your garden ok? Keep leaving out the water and keep your eyes and ears peeled for action!

Great news @blobby10! Fingers crossed that it is the hedgehogs 🦔. Have you seen them? Mine appear at 10pm on the dot! Get your night vision binoculars out !😀

Bumping to reach as many people as possible before dusk. Fresh water is a real lifeline for hedgehogs 🦔

Yes that is true, they were a few streets away and I definitely heard that weird noise last year 😂 Do we know how far they wander?

I put the food in the front garden because it’s easier to access for them as we have a long shared drive with bushes etc running along the street. The back gardens are all fenced so probably harder for them to get around.

I’ll keep trying then in the hope they find me eventually.

I’m now leaving out water in a shallow dish and some hedgehog food as we have a gap under our fence which we know is used as a highway as we’ve previously seen hedgehog poop.

My efforts have been rewarded with 2 sightings in 2 consecutive nights.

You’re a star ⭐️ @RichardOsmansXraySpecs thank you for carrying on

According to Hedgehog Strret, hedgehogs travel about 1-2 km per night (see pic of one of their leaflets). That’s why creating hedgehog highways are so important- if hedgehogs can’t get into gardens to find food and water, they are forced to roam onto roads, and we know that always ends in disaster for hedgehogs

@Chronicallymothering brilliant hedgehog news! Thank you so much for helping them. 🦔

if you haven’t already, please log your sighting on the Big Hedgehog Map . Your data will really help the campaign to keep hedgehogs a common and familiar part of British life

Bumping as the weather is definitely warming up and it’s hot for hedgehogs! Please help them by leaving out shallow dishes of fresh water each night. Females normally give birth to hoglets at the end of June so you will really be helping the current and future generations of hedgehogs 🦔

Thanks for the reminder. My garden seems to have hedgehogs every autumn, never before that. I often have a look around on the lawn for that unmistakeable hedgehog poo, but nothing yet.

No sighting of my hog last night, but all of the food's gone and lots of the water too - I just hope it was the hog and not cats/birds

We were feeding a massive hedgehog last autumn but we haven't seen it at all this year. We've suddenly got frogs instead. We live in the middle of a city!

@TheDuchessOfMN interesting that hedgehogs are only in your garden in Autumn Duchess. I wonder why?

thank you for leaving out shallow dishes of fresh water - it really is a lifeline. Can I leave this link for you to log your hedgehog sightings if you see them this Autumn? Big hedgehog map . You can also enter your post code to see if there have been any other sightings near by

Thank you for helping the hedgehogs @HopeSpringsInfernal . You are so kind. Hoping that you catch sight of whoever your garden visitors are so you can confirm

@Thelnebriati that’s so positive that you have frogs especially as you live in a city! Do you have a pond? It just goes to show how important it to have wildlife friendly spaces across the country because wildlife desperately need homes.

I do hope the hedgehog comes back! May I leave this video here to share top 10 tips to encourage hedgehogs if you haven’t already seen it?

@Pricklesinperil I definitely have a hog visiting, but the time's have varied & I didn't see him last night - maybe he sneaked in after I went to bed! Hoping to get a glimpse of him tonight

Loving all the posts and everyone caring for our wildlife.
Interesting comments above as our hogs are on a cycle here too. We only notice them on our camera at certain times of the year, but I do know they could be staying closer to the hedges and not in full view of camera. But when we had loads visiting they always left their calling card lol.

I've noticed some comments about badgers. We have badgers here too and we have even seen them eating side by side with a hog on our wildlife cam once. We get lots of foxes too and they bring their cubs in.

Badgers don't always attack hedgehogs, its usually if they are very short on their own food source
If you put peanuts out badgers love them

We are so blessed here we get so much wildlife 🥰