Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus

Hedgehogs will eat at least 100 invertebrates, such as snails, slugs and worms every night. If you want to put out supplementary food you can buy specially made dried food for hedgehogs or you can feed them dog or cat meat – any flavour except fish. Do not give hedgehogs milk but ensure that there is water in your garden, not just for hedgehogs but for all animals.

If you have found a small hedgehog in November or December, which weighs less than 600gms (21oz), keep it warm and try to fatten it up so that it can survive hibernation over winter. The best food to put out for your hedgehog is cat or dog food – although avoid fish based ones. Don’t put out bread and milk as these could make the hedgehog ill.

If you are concerned about your hedgehog contact The RSPCA Wildlife Centre, at East Winch, King's Lynn on 0300 123 0709.

Any hedge is beneficial to wildlife but a mix of evergreen and deciduous planting is good with plants that have autumn berries. Some suggestions could be holly, hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, field maple and beech. Thick hedges and thorny hedges provide the best protection for nesting birds and cover at the base of the hedge such as long grasses may encourage hedgehogs and small mammals.

The simple answer is no. Magpies and songbirds have coexisted for many thousands of years and there is absolutely no evidence that widespread declines of any species can be blamed on magpies. It is true that during the breeding season magpies take the eggs and young of small birds as do great-spotted woodpeckers, jays, stoats, hedgehogs and lots of other predators. In fact some songbird species whose nests are attacked by magpies such as greenfinch and goldfinch have increased in numbers and other songbirds, such as skylarks, whose nests are rarely predated by magpies have massively declined.

To demonise magpies and blame them as the main cause of loss of songbirds is simply wrong. More important factors such as food supply and availability of suitable breeding habitat are the real determinants of songbird populations.

Autumn juveniles are around in September. These are hedgehogs which are old enough to have left their mother but are still too small to hibernate, usually they are from a late litter. Hedgehogs need to weigh at least 600gms to survive hibernation; under this weight they will need to be rescued and taken into care centres such as The RSPCA Wildlife Centre, at East Winch, King's Lynn on 0300 123 0709.

You can help by keeping these little hedgehogs warm and offering them meet based dog food and water, especially if they are seen out during the day as it probably means they are hungry.

Badgers will prey on hedgehogs and also compete with them for other prey items such as slugs and worms. However, hedgehogs and badgers have lived in the same habitats for millions of years and there is little evidence suggesting that badgers are contributing to hedgehog decline.

Hibernation is a period of deep sleep where the animal’s metabolism slows down to conserve energy. Hedgehogs begin to find nest site in October for hibernation in November. Hedgehogs then emerge from hibernation in March.

Young hedgehogs are called “hoglets” and there are usually 4 or 5 in a litter. The breeding season begins in May and hoglets are born in June. They will remain hidden for about 4 weeks but will then begin to follow their mother foraging.

The best way to help hedgehogs is to provide them with a suitable habitat. Leaving areas of your garden undisturbed allows hedgehogs to find shelter amongst leaves. Also avoid strimming and grass cutting around possible areas where hedgehogs may be sheltering. Extra shelter can be provided by creating hibernation spots. This can be a box or an undisturbed log pile. Hedgehogs also love the warmth of compost heaps and they also provide hedgehogs with food. You can also supplement hedgehogs’ food with insects or cat and dog food but don’t give hedgehogs milk or fish-flavoured cat meat.

Many hedgehogs are subjected to road kill so slow down when driving at night and take care to avoid crossing wildlife.

There are two types of hedgehog, the rural and the urban and unfortunately both are declining. The main reasons for the decline of the rural hedgehog are fragmentation of habitat. Their natural habitat is the edge of woodland and hedges are a perfect substitute. However, larger fields with fewer hedges and increased road building fragment the hedgehog habitat. Fragmentation means hedgehogs may find it difficult to cross boundaries between these isolated islands and small populations can become lost. Other factors such as decreased food due to pesticides may also be affecting hedgehog numbers.

Urban hedgehogs are also declining as a result of habitat loss. Property development and increased numbers of paved gardens means there are less fields and gardens that are suitable for hedgehogs.

Most gardens, even in urban and suburban areas, will have some mammals visiting at some point - if only the occasional hedgehog, grey squirrel or fox. However, the number of species visiting and their frequency will very much depend upon the location of the individual garden and, just as importantly, the surrounding environment.

Whilst you may be fortunate to catch occasional sightings of the local hedgehogs shuffling across your lawn or have to fend off the attentions of squirrels on your bird feeders, you will need to rely on less direct methods of surveying mammals to fully audit them using your garden.

Use sample garden mammal Survey Form E.

Mammals will take up residence or regularly visit your garden if they can find food, shelter or breeding sites. Good places to look for signs of smaller mammals are in log piles, compost heaps, under piles of stones or bricks and in tall grass or the accumulated leaf litter at the bottom of hedges. Leaving some areas of your garden to go wild and ensuring that they remain undisturbed will make surveying mammals much easier, as it will greatly increase the chances of their taking up residence.

Some mammals will happily live under the garden sheds or outbuildings, where signs of their occupancy may be obvious, and some may even temporarily utilise our homes. Species such as wood mice, bank voles and brown rats can sometimes be seen taking advantage of spilt seed under bird feeders, whereas foxes, hedgehogs and badgers will feast on windfall apples and earthworms on your lawn.

When surveying mammals in your garden, there are a number of signs that they have been visiting:

Trails

If mammals are using your garden they may well create clear access points or pathways leading to and from favoured feeding areas. Holes made under fences, fur snagged on wire fences, food dropped along the pathway, scratch marks on trees and maybe the size of the entrance to any burrows will all give clues as to what is present.

Keep track with what’s going on…

Norfolk Wildlife Trust has set up a ‘Tracks, Trails and Signs’ section on the photo gallery. You might just find a photograph that matches your trail, burrow or track.

Tracks

Any mammals using your garden will leave tracks, although these may be hard to spot. If you place some sand (perhaps in a large tray or container) in a shallow pit close to suspected feeding sites or across established trails, any mammals using the area may leave their tracks which you can then identify by use of a good field guide. Muddy margins or garden ponds will also be a good spot to look for tracks.

Step this way…

Have you got an animal footprint you would like help identifying? Check out some common footprints here or submit your photograph online.  Include information on the size of the footprint and where it was taken.

Droppings

The size, shape, colour and consistency of droppings will provide excellent, often conclusive, indicators as to what is using your garden. For example: foxes leave quite large droppings with distinctive tapered ends, whilst hedgehog droppings are shiny and black, and will often contain hard remains of beetles and other invertebrates.

For some droppings you might find in your garden click here.

Eating Habits

Small rodents will readily store supplies of fruit and nuts, and their remains can help you determine the species group responsible. Seeds and nuts are dealt with in very different ways by mice, voles and squirrels, and all three leave quite distinct gnawing patterns.

Foxes have a wide-ranging diet and will sometimes leave conspicuous remains of their meal on your lawn or in your flower-beds. For example, a trail of woodpigeon feathers could well be the work of a fox. They will readily feed on carrion and even dig up shallow-buried remains. Scattered contents of rubbish bags can also be a good indicator of their presence.

Badgers will also dig for food, and holes scratched in your lawn may well the be work of these hungry animals - especially in dry weather, when their prey may be driven deeper underground.

Providing a regular food supply whilst surveying mammals can be a good way of drawing those which you know to be present closer to your house. Placing kitchen scraps, small amounts of meat-based cat or dog food (but not fish, which upsets the digestive system of some mammals), fruit, seeds, peanuts and especially mealworms on a patio or on the lawn during the evening is sure to attract hedgehogs, foxes, small mammals and, if you are particularly fortunate, perhaps a badger.

You can even create a purpose built mammal feeding station close to your house so you can observe in comfort. A word of warning – if you wish to avoid attracting brown rats you should not leave the food out all night.