I’m not sure I know what a brass monkey is, and I’m quite sure I’ve never seen one, but if there is one at Saltholme today, as several people have suggested, it will be wearing extra underwear, a thick coat, hat, gloves and scarf. Which may make it difficult to spot, so I suggest check all the visitors for a furry tail.

 

Snow is interesting in that we can see the tracks of the various mammals and where they go at night, and I found a couple of rat burrows this morning by following little footprints. But frozen water is a serious problem for wildfowl. The last thing any creature needs in these temperatures, is an inability to feed. Water voles become easy prey for herons in these conditions. When I went to feed the visitor centre feeding station this morning, there was a patch of open water in the main lake which was full of birds including wigeon, gadwall, teal, a pintail, Hissy, Scratchy and George. Even though I fed the edge of lake with corn, only a few mallards made it Bambi like to the food. The swans were unable to get onto the ice and so remain hungry.

Gobbling mallards and hungry swans

 

During these cold spells, I can’t help worrying about all the animals that are tucked up asleep. It may seem like a good idea to sleep it out, but many hedgehogs die in hibernation. It’s not well known that hedgehogs wake several times during a winter, during warmer spells, and emerge to try and feed. They can also move to another nest, although I think this may be a problem for garden hedgehogs that have limited suitable nest sites. Putting food out for them during these warmer spells can be a life saver.

 

You may remember Michael the 3 legged hedgehog I found here in October 2016. Michael lives in my garden now, and even though we go to great lengths to ensure his happiness, he’s still a grumpy little thing and does an Elvis when we bump into each other (head own, shoulders up), and huffs at us. I put this down to the vet taking his bony stump off.

  

Michael the Elvis impersonator

 

Michael is hibernating in specially made box with an extra box over the top for more insulation. The tunnel entrance is packed with hay with a drinking straw pushed through for ventilation. Last Sunday (the 3rd) it was a warmer day than the previous week, and I suspected that Michael may pop out for a bit. We put some cat biscuits and puppy food in a couple of bowls just in case, and sure enough, we saw him wobbling around at about 8 o’clock, although I think he came out earlier. He found the food and sat there and gorged on it, before wobbling back into his box. I then re-built up the hay, and he never came back out. It is then important to bring any food back in that could attract mice, rats, cats etc. I did then worry about how he may digest the food when his body temperature and heart rate drop, but I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.

 

So when this freezing spell is over, and if it warms up, if you do have hedgehog asleep in your garden, put some food out for it early in the evening, and you may just save a life.