The Lemon Fool

That's a good point. I'm enjoying watching pairs of our garden birds preparing for nesting - blackbirds, sparrows, blue tits, doves, wood pigeons.

The other day I saw our lovely blackbird tugging away at some straw trying to get pieces for nesting. After he had gone I pulled out enough clumps for a ready-made nest and left them nearby on the law. An hour later they had all gone and our feathered friends were settled in their starter home!

They tell me that foxes are also getting smarter about the technique for killing a hedgehog. (Roll it about, step back and wait for it to walk away, then grab it by the underside.) Then again, I don't think slug bait is a very healthy addition to their preferred diet.

I follow posts on Facebook by a local hedgehog rescue and their main concern is the ever rising number of attacks by dogs. One rescue in Dublin says that the majority of injured hogs admitted are now due to dog attacks. My local rescue is asking people to keep their dog on a lead when walking them at dusk because of this issue. N.B. They also point out that the dog ends up injured as well!