On 02/03/2019 15:43, Jenny M Benson wrote:
On 02-Mar-19 02:55 PM, Serena Blanchflower wrote:

I put out assorted bird food: largely sunflower seeds, chopped
peanuts, suet pellets and dry mealworms.Â* All stuff that the hedgies
love but nothing of much interest to any of the cats, either mine or
visiting mogs.Â* When I don't have hedgies visiting, the leftovers are
happily eaten by the birds who share my garden.

(Hello Serena, I *did* see you there!!)

Hello Jenny!


Not attractive to cats, I'm sure, but such stuff down at hedgehog level
would be very encouraging to rats,Â* wouldn't it?

Yes, I think that anything a hedgehog would eat would also be tasty to a
rat. The feed I put out is generally cleared up pretty quickly the
following morning (if not eaten by a hedgie first) by a mix of
starlings, magpies, woodpigeons, along with the odd blackbird, robin and
sparrow.

I have a wildlife cam watching the feeder overnight and I've sometimes
seen a mouse helping itself but, so far at least, I haven't seen any
sign of a rat.


A hedgehog (1) has appeared in the garden here occasionally and I have
put out cat food for it, but only when I knew it was actually in the
immediate vicinity.


Last spring, I had some holes cut in the fences between my garden and my
neighbours' gardens (with my neighbours' enthusiastic agreement). A few
weeks later, a pair of hedgies arrived and regularly visited my garden
each night. Later in the summer they vanished though but I'm hoping
they will return this year. This is one of the reasons I'm putting down
food which will attract birds (who I'm only too happy to feed) rather
than the neighbourhood moggies.

(1) I use the singular because I've only ever been aware of a single one
at any time, but as sightings have been separated by about 10 years,
almost certainly not just one hedgehog!


g

--
Best wishes, Serena
If all goes well, this year's drama will be next year's anecdote
(Humphrey Littleton)