Hedgehog Awareness Week

Hedgehog Awareness Week runs from 30th April to 6th May 2023 and is organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. It takes place every year and aims to highlight the problems hedgehogs face and how you can help them.

Click on this link to take you to the Society’s web page for this awareness week. It will give you valuable guidance on what you can do to help. If you have a garden, the number 1 priority is to ensure that hedgehogs can get in and ideally be able to move to your neighbours gardens as well.

Please do all that you can to help these much loved creatures!

Flowers at Newton “Five Arches” Wildlife Site

The site at Newton underwent extensive restoration work to benefit the local wildlife. This of course also makes it a very spectacular site for us humans to visit. It was a project run by Butterfly Conservation in partnership with Newton and Biggin Parish Council. You can read about the grand re-opening of the site here.

The gallery shows some recent pictures of some of the wild flowers species that are currently in bloom

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The Delights of a Wet Meadow

The images are from a local wet meadow and show some examples of the wonderful flora and fauna that can exist in such places.

Brimstone Butterfly

The male of the species is that most noticeable bright yellow butterfly, that is typically one of the earliest species to be observed in spring. The less glamorous female is still readily identifiable with a closer view.

This is peak season for their egg laying. This species is a very good example of native plant dependency. The foodplant for the larvae is the Purging Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) or the closely related Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus). Nothing else will do! In our gardens and surrounding countryside, the Purging Buckthorn is more common, as the Alder variety prefers a damper and acidic soil.

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Hedgehog “Pecking Order”

Tony Penycate, a local wildlife enthusiast, has kindly provided some hedgehog observations from his garden. where the hogs visit his feeding station. The pictures show two visiting hogs together, There is some sign of posturing and submission over who gets to the food first.

The smaller hog is standing tall to increase its presence. This is actually revealing the softer underside. The tactic seemiingly did not work, as it has then curled up into its defensive mode.

Feeding Time – I’m going first (I wish)
Feeding Time – I’m going first (I wish)
Ah – give up!