h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Another question Webbie, how big is your garden? possible small hide at one end maybe

Animal,

The garden is long and narrow and the brocks come in at the bottom, the farthest point from the house. We have toyed with the idea of using the garden shed but it is so full of stuff there is no room, except for the Wood Mouse! We will crack it soon. We had two brocks last night. The second one is getting a little braver.


Our neighbours are back from holiday and I am not sure how their activities will impact on things.

Smudger,

I am sure your hedgie will remember where he had a nice warm dry, safe bed and come back perhaps in the Autumn proper.

Got to go see PHM. Back later when HooToo is back on (I hope).

Websailor

Hi WS, I dont think our wee hedgehog will return, the neighbourhood is that bad

We have quite a large garden at the back, thats where our shed is along with of course the "summer house" I built for Mk2 a couple of years ago, (when I was a bit more mobile)
Then we have a garden at the fornt, which since we made a car parking area for the car, is now a bit less grass to be cut.
The rest is all stone chips, which I now have to rake after every visit form our G/Kids, as they rip it up with their bikes, this is made easier with that wee chair that I cut down, so I can do it sitting down

So I suppose they keep me busy
Smudger,

shoot the neighbours

Just read this, a badger, thats amazing! I have never seen one in the wild. Fancy charging to let people use your home as a badger hide?

Kaz,

We are trying to keep it as quiet as possible locally, as we know badger diggers have been seen around, and you just don't know who might say something in the pub

We have now had three sightings of two brocks together, but feel sure they have been coming for much longer than we have been seeing them, as all the signs were there - we just didn't believe it

If you want to see them in the wild, try approaching a local badger group - they sometimes take groups to see them.

As we don't get out much and don't have a car, it is such a for them to come to us Mind, it is keeping us up later than normal, but now my other half won't go to bed till he's seen them

We are both a bit at the moment, and there is no sign of them coming earlier. They are creatures of habit, obviously. I keep getting a mental picture of white rabbit with his enormous pocket watch

Must boring humdrum things like shopping to do, unfortunately

Websailor

I can understand your reasons for keeping it secret Websailor, I am now mostly imagining a badger saying 'shush, you ain't seen me right'.

Kaz, you've got it

The way they melt in and out of the shadows is the spookiest thing I have ever seen. If it wasn't for the white stripes they would be almost invisible.

The foxes definitely play second fiddle to the brocks, hanging around in the background, yet they will come out in sunlight in full view, as they did yesterday afternoon.

We had an amusing half hour watching a Wood Mouse, racing out from under the shed and taking peanuts and raisins back to his den. Very clearly in a huge hurry 'cus he knew the badger was due

We nearly had a fit when he popped out just six feet from the badger Much as we love our brocks I didn't want to witness the cute little Wood Mouse becoming "dinner". They are so tiny, and move like greased lightening. Speedy has big eyes and big ears and a long tail. He nearly climbed into the badger's dish. I think he thought better of it in case he couldn't get out!

Our back garden is much more interesting than the TV - I just wish we could watch more comfortably, instead of standing up.

On the other hand, if we could sit down, nothing else would get done


Websailor

Webbie, its pob' been said before, you have something that people would pay thousands for, I'm jealous for one!..Please do not pack this thread in at any time, its our own windowto your garden

Our tomaatoes have been falling off the plants,as soon as they're ripe enough....they never did that before!!!
At teatime yesterday we found out why.
Our squirrel is back!!!!It ran across the lawn,and jumped onto the fence,with a in it's little"hands",then sat there quite happily,and ate it!!!It was only a foot away from the window!!

Animal, that's nice of you I will try to keep it going if I can make it interesting enough.

One badger came last night at 10pm, did a recce. had a bit of food and disappeared again! It / They, came back between 1-30am and 2.15am and cleared the dish, then tipped the table over, as much as to say "is that all?" Didn't see them though. Lots of little whole in the lawn this morning

They seem to like what we put out, and I have been careful to read up on what they eat, and what is safe to give them, and not to give too much.

My son might come over tonight to stay over, and I bet you they won't appear till we have crashed out from sheer exhaustion I do hope he can see them, even if we don't manage to get a photo. I h ope the little Wood Mouse comes out too, he is so cute and funny.

Smurfles, your squirrel sounds like mine. He will pinch half apples or any fruit, bread etc. I put out, except I have at least four resident "squiggles" who eat half the bird food

Still, with badgers and foxes, squirrels, and hopefully a hedgehog somewhere we shouldn't see too many r-a-t-s

I have found a way to dispose of the slugs without it being too revolting, I just have to catch the ers, and I am not about to go out slug hunting at 3am. I just grab what I see and watch where I step

Might post later, if not tomorrow. Hope he is not too late tonight, and that he does come, or my son with be seriously ed off.


Websailor

Thanks Websailor and Smurfles for sharing those! I don't have anything to add but I really enjoyed your stories, definately keep them up!

Incidently, there are some great webcams around:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/webcams/badger_wildlink_cam.shtml

http://www.denburyfarm.co.uk/camera1.php

http://www.denburyfarm.co.uk/camera2.php

http://www.theowlcam.com/

http://www.wirral-mbc.gov.uk/barnowls/

are all fairly reliable for those of not as lucky as WS!

Skankyrich...my friend

I shall have a look at those too, if I had a webcam then on quiet nights I would be tempted to use cuddly versions of whatever it was meant to be showing, just to keep the interest up! I like to think everybody would notice.

The Denbury farm ones are particularly reliable; between about an hour after sunset and midnight are peak times. They must leave food there, I'm sure.

This is fantastic, too, in a totally different way: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2003/monkey_words.shtml

It says much about my home county

Mine too. Thanks. Will look when I have a minute.

UPDATE

but it's so

My son came last night, and we put the brock food out, and set up the camera after many trial attempts to get a good view.

We had to risk having the window wide open, which meant he could smell our scent (so much nicer than odour, pong etc. one thinks!!!?) He could also hear the slightest sound, like PHM's heavy breathing

I was banished from the kitchen, husband wouldn't go so son had to put up with him, and it consequently took longer. The badger came at 9.45pm and could clearly hear, scent, or sense something different and wouldn't come up the step. His nose in the air told him something was up

However, he cleared the table further down the garden, tipping the top so he could hide behind it and eat without them seeing him. Having licked that clean, he went worming for an hour or so, re-appearing in various places, having a drink, and eating some blackberries (I am sure he would eat if available)

The lights didn't bother him much, but we eventually decided to put them out, and while waiting saw the fox, and the badger several times. Eventually other half went to bed, and the badger came back at midnight. We heard the dish clatter, and once he was engrossed in a good meal, my son started taking photos.

Brock stopped every time he heard the silly noise the camera made , and looked affronted at the Flash, but carried on eating. He finished the contents of the dish, gave a snooty look at the window and ambled off. He very clearly knew he was being watched. We also saw two (besides us)

My son stood so still and quiet for hours I was really impressed. Apparently he has badger watched in the wild before, sitting on an apple crate for about six hours, no hide or cover and nearly freezing his bits off

Instructions when badger watching are: no deodorants, perfumes etc., no noisy nylon clothing or rattling zips. No scratching even if you itch like crazy, and no stroking your stubble (men only!!) as they will hear. Don't speak, whisper, cough, sneeze or sniff, or your chances, and those of everyone else, of seeing anything will be gone. Oh, and I suppose making sure you have an empty bladder and bowel would be a good idea

Ours are clearly more sophisticated and know which side their bread's buttered on. PHM (my other half) says the birds and the badger get fed better than him and maybe he's right. Peanuts, raisins, apples, pears, badger food with some other goodies in(it smells rather nice actually). Peanut butter sandwich/Marmite sandwich, not all together, with only one slice of bread cut into tiny squares, and occasionally a tiny bit of honey.

Apparently they love honey, but my book advises not to give sweet things, as they only have one set of teeth, and once those are wrecked, you will have one dead badger. Don't give meat either because of the risk of food poisoning.

I have also re-read Phil Drabble's book "Badgers at my Window" which is doubly fascinating now. The first time I read it I was but now I think it taught me what NOT to do, as much as what I could do.

My time following Operation Migration(see my PS) has taught me how dangerous it is to allow wild animals to become tamed, and the same goes for wild birds. It is VERY tempting, but I think there is a thin line between helping them, and making them dependent on you.

By 1.30am we had had enough, but couldn't go to sleep so chatted for half an hour before bed. Now, I am hoping at some stage to put a photo or two in my Yahoo photo album, but we will have to be very patient, as his camera software didn't load properly on the computer, and it screwed up one or two other things, so until he has time to sort it out I must wait.

He hopes to get some prints done, which he can scan in and send to me, which means I should be able to upload them, but not yet. He is working such long hours

I have another photo of badgers feeding at a dish, that a friend took some years ago before she died, but I wouldn't kid you and put that up instead. They used to feed outside her caravan at Brean Down. My son and I sat up nearly all night for four nights there, without seeing even a shadow of the stripey .

I do wish she was still alive as she would have been so for us. Still, perhaps she does know - she loved gossip and news and wildlife, so I am sure she is "up there" somewhere watching

My body clock is all to pot now, so must try and get back to some semblance of normality. Apart from anything else, I have a Blood Pressure check tomorrow, and I am sure it is way up so better take it easy till tomorrow afternoon.

This morning the lawn is full of holes, but who cares

for now. Off to eat and have a for a while,

Websailor

like PHM's heavy breathing sadfacethat's why Ponte's been quiet for years

the sadface should not have transfered