South Leigh

• Modern farming practices are a major factor, with the use of herbicides and pesticides which deplete the numbers of earthworms, slugs, snails and many insects all of which are hedgehog prey.
• The removal and also close cutting of hedgerows has a huge impact of the feeding and activities of the hedgehog.
• The loss of habitats through land development and with such a lot of new houses to be built, there is going to be a lot more habitat lost.
• More roads will be built, there will be much more traffic, and many drivers go too fast, especially through our villages.

• Linking our gardens. With so much habitat being lost through development it is vital that hedgehogs can access our gardens. If you have solid wooden fences, cut a few 13cm square holes, if you have wire fencing you can also cut holes for hedgehogs, even stone walls can be accessed by removing stones and fitting pipes around 13cm diameter. Ask your neighbours if they can do the same - hedgehogs will do a lot of good in gardens.
• Log piles. One of the best features for a lot of wildlife, especially the hedgehog. Log piles provide a safe, secure site for breeding and/ or hibernating. They are also good for insects.
• Open compost heaps. These can make an attractive nesting site for a hedgehog. Open air composting is also great for insects. But please be careful if turning compost, especially with a garden fork. Be safe and leave it alone during the nesting season.
• Leaf piles. These can be used as a potential nest site and can also be used for bedding material for other nest sites, also for use in hibernation, maybe in a hibernation box or in a log pile.
• Ponds can be very beneficial for hedgehogs. An all year round water supply and hedgehogs will love the added insects and amphibians it will attract. Just be sure to put in a ramp or sloping side to allow hedgehogs to get out, they are in fact good swimmers.

• Netting. Hedgehogs can and very often do get caught up in them. All you need to do is hook it up during the night and when you are not using it. Also, fix pea netting so that it is at least 8 inches off the ground.
• Bonfires. Just be sure to check it before lighting, especially if it was built a day or longer ago.
• Strimming. Always check long overgrown areas to be cut for hedgehogs that may be resting.
• Open drains and similar openings are very dangerous for hedgehogs. Cover them with wooden boards or similar and maybe put a pot plant on it.
• Slug pellets. Please do not use chemical based pellets. Hedgehogs will eat the slugs for you if they can get access to them, they are the best slug controllers.

The above images © Tim Lawson

• Feeding: Put out some food which will be a great help for the youngsters as they have to find food for themselves. You can put out either meat-based dog or cat food and some water - do not put out milk as it is not good for them. Try to put it where dogs or cats cannot get to it. You can, if you are practical, build them a feeding station by cutting a 13cm hole in a plastic storage box and weighing down the lid with a stone or bricks, this will stop cats and foxes taking the food. If you are worried about attracting rats, don’t put grain-based foods out and take in any food still there in the mornings.
• Bonfires: Every year a number of hedgehogs die or suffer injuries due to bonfire piles not being checked before being lit. To help them and other wildlife from suffering, it is advised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to avoid building your bonfire until the day it is going to be lit. This will reduce the chances of the hedgehogs taking up residence in the bonfire pile for hibernation. If you are building a fireworks bonfire over several days, it is a good idea to put a low fence of chicken wire around it to prevent them getting into the pile.
• Hibernation: Hedgehogs need a dry and quiet place for hibernation. We can help by building a log pile, making sure there is room for a hedgehog. Cover the log pile with leaves and grass to keep the wind and rain out. Better still, we can buy or make a purpose made hedgehog house. Position it in a quiet part of your garden where they won't be disturbed, make sure the roof is water-tight, hide it under a wood pile or amongst tall vegetation with the entrance in a position that is hidden from view but can be found by the hedgehog.

Photo of Waxwings in Aston village taken by Barry Hudson;
note that the red-wax patches are just visible on the wings, but this is unusual.

I was walking through the village on Christmas Eve delivering some late Christmas cards when I set eyes on a bird that I had never seen before in my life. Since I have been interested in birds since the age of about five and have travelled around many parts of the world working as a professional ornithologist, or simply looking at birds for pleasure, this was quite a momentous occasion. And a home-grown one too.

The bird in question was a Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus - see the photo. It is starling-sized with a sort of beigey-brown plumage but what is striking is its punk-rocker style crest which it raises when the mood takes it. It gets its name from the waxy red patches on the tips of its inner flight feathers but in the field one does not see these easily and it just looks as though the wings have nicely scalloped black and white edges. The bird I saw was in the hedge along Chapel Road on the right going towards Witney. And it was doing what waxwings habitually do in winter, which is eating berries.

I had been hoping to see a waxwing this winter because the birding networks were full of reports of them around Oxfordshire, but somehow they were always being reported from somewhere other than where I was. The weather at that time with about a foot of snow was not exactly conducive to driving around looking for waxwings. I had asked various friends to call me if they saw one but that had not produced any leads except to places I was not sure I could get to in the snow.

It turns out that this winter, according to the Oxford Ornithological Society, has proved to be a bumper year for waxwings with a 'spectacular invasion of this species'. They invade from Scandinavia and Russia when the berry crop fails in those areas, moving into Britain from the East. It happens only every few years and in the books it mentions another large-scale invasion in 1965/6. This winter (2010/11) there were one or two records in Oxford in November, but they really moved in big-time in December with 'a peak around the third week when multiple flocks were discovered on a daily basis'. It was roughly estimated that there may have been 700 to 800 birds in Oxfordshire. Reading those details in the OOS Bulletin, made my one bird in Chapel Road seem like small beer, but for me it was still exciting to see just one having never seen it before.

As I write this on 3rd February, waxwings are still around in Oxfordshire and several small flocks have been seen today around Abingdon. In winter waxwings love berries, so if you have some rowan berry crops in your garden, some rose hips or some crab apples, look out for that sandy coloured bird with a puffy crest and black and white markings on its wings. They often occur in small flocks of ten or less. The number of birds tends gradually to tail off during January to March with a few stragglers around until April or May. They nest in pine trees by preference, in northern Scandinavia laying their eggs in mid-June, quite late in the year by British standards. It may be many years before they invade Oxfordshire on the scale they did this year.

Clive Elliott