News of Cuckoo Valentine.

An update from BTO on the migratory travels of my Cuckoo Valentine arrived in my inbox today .

Our Cuckoos have now reached their wintering areas. It is amazing to see that having been tagged within a stone's throw of each other, Norfolk Cuckoo Valentine and Suffolk Cuckoo PJ were separated by 3,780km (2,349 miles) in August but are now again within 15km (9.3 miles) of each other in northern Angola.  They are approximately 70 km (43 miles) north east of the capital Luanda. PJ and Valentine have wintered in this area in previous years and if conditions are good, they may well stay in this area untill late February/early March.

Hedgehog Survey.

 I recently took part in Dorset Wildlife Trust's survey of Hedgehogs in Dorset. Sadly I had to report that I had seen none in Martinstown.  For most of my 46 years in the village hedgehogs have been nightly visitors to my garden, together with Badgers and Foxes. Experiences ranged from stepping on a hedgehog in the dark, I am not sure who was most alarmed, me or the hedgehog ( niether of us suffered any serious harm), to getting up in the middle of the night to investigate what sounded like a baby crying in the front garden. This turned out to be due to a tightly rolled hedgehog which a badger was trying to open up and make a meal of.The badger was persuaded to leave through the front gate and the hedgehog taken to the back garden where it scampered off into the shelter of the hedge.Alas these nightly visits seem to have ceased in the last four or five years.

However, of the 4000 responents to the survey 80% had seen a badger.  Full results of the survey are at:-

dorsetwildlifetrust.typeform.com/report/ogep1RZr/yswQfsOA2Zh2LbJJ

and a leaflet on helping to preserve the hedghog population is at:-

www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/download-your-hedgehog-guide-0?utm_source=EmailHHGuide91120&utm_medium=EmailHHGuide91120&utm_campaign=EmailHHGuide91120&utm_term=EmailHHGuide91120&utm_content=EmailHHGuide91120

 I saw a car flattend hedgehog at the western end of the village a few days ago so we do still have a few around.