'arry and I have been listening to Motown on one of the jukeboxes this afternoon whilst I cleaned the interior of the tea-house. Well..He didn't have much choice, as he's under the floor. He's not complained, but neither did the six fox cubs which were under there four years ago, the presence of whom I was oblivious for a couple of months. Last night's photo. I'm sure he's putting on weight.
just catching up this thread and it is so enjoyable, thanks to the good photos..and in depth descriptions... have not seen any as yet...sob sob....
I moved the camera down to cover the main patio last night and it picked up 'arry wandering around it and going into his feeding station. He's generating enough heat to trigger the camera, but again, not enough to turn on a security light above the camera. I think he must walk down the path from the tea-house as it will br dryer than walking down the border and around the back of the rockery. He's just walking past the rose in the centre of the photo. The night before last he ate his "chicken dinner" but left some of his pellets, which assured me he's getting enough to eat. So I put what he left out again last night and he cleared both bowls, so it's not as if he didn't like them. It was funny on Tuesday. I do the "big shop" on that day from the list my wife compiles, we both add to it during the rest of the week as we think of stuff. I check it before I leave the house. But I read "5 cat food sachets" So I said "Why only 5 cat foods? Are you putting 'arry on a 2 day diet?" "Expletive deleted." I've moved the camera back down to its former position, as I want to know if since I put in the further preventative measures, the fox is still coming into our garden. It won't come down as far as the patio.
My wife was concerned last night as by 1.30 a.m. (the time we usually go to bed) 'arry had not been for his dinner. He is usually there for "first sitting" by 9.45 pm., sometimes earlier. I explained that his feeding station is on the highest point of the patio and it slopes away from the house and rain water drains through several holes in the low walls on either side of it. There'd been so much rain that although it had now stopped, the borders couldn't absorb so much water, so he'd need his wellies or a little boat to get from the path where it drops down two steps to the the high point on the patio where his feeding station is always situated as there were two inches of water to negotiate he'd first have to cross. I checked this morning, the water had all drained away and he'd been and cleared his feeding bowls. He probably didn't come until three or four in the morning by which time most of the water would have been gone.
Hard to see him here but he's in the middle of this photo. You can just see his eye. He shows up better on the videos. With training the camera on the path, I've established that it's the way he comes backwards and forwards to his feeding station. Sometimes twice during the night. It's the obvious easy route, but more exposed than if he came down the other side of the garden against the side fence. At least given his usual route, he's away from the frog pond. There are rocks at one end that he could use to get out if he fell in, but we think he might not be that bright. I tried to check if he was there eating his food last night around 11.00pm. But as his feeding station tends to mist up a bit it's hard to see looking through the glass of the French windows. I had to get down on my hands and knees and look through the bottom of the window to be able to make out his shape. I could see he wasn't in there, then got a bit of a shock as he casually passed by me a foot away trotting from left to right, below the whole length of the steps. He then made his way across the patio, up the other steps on to the path and then made his way down to the bottom of the garden, stopping off to have a sniff at something in the bed to the right about where he is in the photo. He's still not setting off the PIR. Although I think when it's dark the camera switches to infra red and stays on that setting even if the light comes on. I've noticed now and again in the videos there's a sort of "flash" but the picture stays in monochrome. If there's enough light near 5.00 am you get photos and videos in colour.
I thought I'd share this photo of 'arry from last night. He really is small under all those prickles. Look at the size of that little back leg.
Thanks for sharing @Doghouse Riley it's nice to see them about. We still get ours and sometimes the bowl is outside the feeding station and empty.
Yesterday I repositioned the camera lower down on the side of the shed hoping to get some better pictures of 'arry last night. Well... I did and I didn't.. I've a few but several are rather blurred. I realised I'd left the bucket which I use to collect weeds etc. under the camera. There was some rainwater in this and I guess in the early hours of the morning, water vapour had risen, misting up the lens of the camera, which didn't clear until the sun came up. So the only decent photo was this and the accompanying video at around 11.00pm And this of Sybil or Cyril in "full flight" at 7.13 am. In the first photo 'arry had activated the security light on the side of the shed, so he's "beginning to make an impression." I've moved the bucket.
'arry's "here there and everywhere," now. He spent quite a bit of time on the patio next to the French windows around 11.00 pm last night. He visited his feeder three times between 10.30 pm and 1.00am. But still inspects the back end of the garden during the night several times too. I've been getting quite a few "blank" photos and videos. Last night I saw the reason, there was just a flash of something flying away from the birdbath. I'm pretty sure it was a bat. We always got bats in our garden when we had the koi pool. If we had the lights on in the garden at night, you could see them flying over the pool chasing insects.
The hedgehog/s had been last night, if they get at the back of the bowl they try to jump over it and if there's more than one in there. I put the bricks there so that the feeding station can't be moved but it doesn't work very well.
Suspicions confirmed! 'arry lives under the tea-house. I temporarily attached the camera to the corner post. The camera comes with a sturdy long strap so you can attach it to quite a big tree if you choose. Here he is emerging from under the side "skirt" of the tea-house. He regularly sets off the little PIR security light on the side of the building, which I put there last year to catch a fox or a cat coming over the back fence, in the vain hope it wouild put them off coming into our garden. The ugly black pipe is the downspout from the guttering I put on the back of the tea-house roof to stop rainwater draining off the roof dripping down the fence. The other "pipe," is the conduit for the low voltage feeds to the spotlight behind the pagoda and the two lanterns. Walking along the low wall. Several photos and videos of him going backwards and forwards to his home during the night. In one of the videos you see him crouching down to get back under the floor. His toilet habits have improved, he hasn't pooed in his feeding station or on the patio for three days now. Do you think I could get a refund on the hedgehog house my wife made me buy? It's going to be hot today, so I've opened both tea-house doors. I don't want the heat frying the components in my jukeboxes' amplifiers. (or 'arry!) The third door is secured by two bolts at the top and at the bottom corners, so if I choose, I can swing it open either way, or remove it completely.
