Hedgehog and Other Wildlife

 

Late last night my wife and myself had a pleasant surprise when our cat spotted a hedgehog roaming around the garden. We sort of know there are hedgehogs around but sightings tend to be rare, possibly on a quinquennial basis, as the mammal is nocturnal and hibernates during the winter.

The sighting is important as over half the country's hedgehogs had disappeared from the countryside since 2000 and they are now absent in a third of towns and cities. 

A section of our garden has been abandoned for cultivation purposes and is designated 'wild'. This may help to encourage hedgehogs whose lifespan tends to be around three years. 

In addition to the hedgehogs  we have regular sightings of foxes and squirrels.We also have a wide range of birdlife ranging from seagulls, pigeons, crows and magpies down to tiny finches and the like.All of this makes for good viewing from the kitchen window!

On this subject of wildlife here are some images of local water birds taken in recent days.

Cormorant on fresh water but usually seen on salt water estuaries. 

 

Pintail Duck

 

 

Little Grebe 

 Canada Geese

 Moorhen

 

 More information

The publication Visitors’ Guide to Scotland provides a wide range of information for the visitor. The ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.