Author: Samantha Kelly

Summer is the best time of year for hedgehog lovers.They are often most active around this time so you are likely to spot them roaming around your garden when they’re hungry and looking for a tasty meal!

Here at WildThings, we have put together the top 5 hedgehog habits and the signs you need to look out for.

Mating

Hedgehogs begin mating between the months of April and June, but they may also mate beyond this time. You will definitely won’t miss two hedgehogs mating as this is a very noisy activity! A tell tale sign that a male hedgehog is trying to mate is when they circle around the female, this can sometimes last for hours and involves lots of loud grunting noises as they try to convince the female. 

Pregnancy 

Once mating is complete and has resulted in a pregnancy, the pregnant female will start to create a nest for her and the hoglets to live in for the next 4-6 weeks. Female hedgehogs are usually pregnant for 30 to 40 days allowing her time to create the perfect nest before they arrive. They don’t stay in the nest long as at 6 weeks old hoglets begin to become more independent and will start to head out with their mother to search for food. Summer is primetime to spot baby hoglets roaming around!

Feeding

At the start of spring, hedgehogs will be very hungry! This is especially true if they have come out of hibernation early, as natural food sources will be scarce due to the slowly rising temperatures. As the weather gets warmer and we head into the summer months, it’s the perfect time for hedgehogs to chow down on creepy crawlies and put on some fat stores. A hedgehog’s natural diet consists of earwigs, beetles, worms and other insects. You can give hedgehogs a helping hand in the summer by leaving out some supplementary food and fresh water in your garden for them.

 When you see hedgehogs foraging for food they will do this through undergrowth, leaf litter and by digging. This allows them to eat whatever suitable food they can find. Hedgehogs are very messy eaters so you should be able to spot if they’ve paid you a visit.You may also find an upside down bowl every so often too.  

Nesting

When looking for a nesting site, hedgehogs will look for a place that has natural materials such as leaves, hay or straw. You can help hedgehogs by leaving piles of leaves and logs and rewilding a section of your garden. Rewilding is leaving a section of your garden and allowing nature to take over. The great thing about providing materials such as leaves and logs is that hedgehogs can then use this to create their nests.

Summer is an important time to be looking out for hedgehogs and their nests before undertaking any gardening activities (like strimming, for example)  as this can cause serious harm. The common nesting spots include leaves, under sheds/outbuildings and in hedgerows. 

How can you help?

Here are a few things you can do to help hedgehogs in your local area:

• Leave out WildThings Food and fresh water
• Don’t over tidy your garden
• Create your own hedgehog house and feeding station
• Make your garden easily accessible with a hedgehog highway 
• Grow native plants

To keep up with hedgehog habits and activity throughout the year, follow us on Facebook or Instagram where we share tips and advice.

Picture the scene: It’s a crisp summer evening and you’re enjoying a nice walk down the canal. Suddenly, a swarm of angry geese blocks your path. What do you do? Many people aren’t actually sure if geese are dangerous or not and many would simply turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Here at WildThings, we take a closer look at geese behaviour and answer the question everyone is dying to know; are geese actually dangerous? 

Why do geese act out aggressively?

If you’ve ever wondered why geese seem to be so angry, there’s actually a very good reason. They act out aggressively as they’re very protective of their young and don’t like sharing space with humans or other animals. If they feel their eggs or goslings are under threat, they’ll do everything in their power to keep them safe. If that means a fight, so be it. 

Can geese actually hurt you?

Humans are very rarely attacked by geese, but it does happen. They’re very territorial animals and can certainly cause injury if they do decide to attack you. Geese may bite or hit you with their exceptionally strong wings and can occasionally cause a serious injury. Don’t worry, they usually only attack when provoked, so as long as you respect their boundaries you should be fine. 

What should you do if you cross paths with a gaggle of geese? 

The most important thing to do is to remain calm. If possible, try to give the gaggle a wide berth when passing and make sure to do so slowly, in a non-threatening way. The gaggle of geese will most certainly keep a close eye on you as you pass but as long as you don’t do anything to escalate the situation, your walk should remain uneventful. 

What should I do if I’m attacked by geese?

Firstly, don’t panic and try to display a calm demeanour towards your attacker. Don’t respond by hitting back or raising your voice, as this will likely aggravate the goose more. It’s crucial that you stand your ground and maintain eye contact with the goose, with your body facing them. Running away or turning your back will only prolong the attack. Standing your ground is the best way to get the goose to back off. 

So, are geese actually dangerous?

The simple answer is, yes, they can be. Geese like their own space and aren’t a massive fan of humans. Normally, if you mind your own business, they’ll mind theirs. Having said that, if a goose feels threatened, they can cause harm to the perceived threat so it’s always worth keeping this in mind. Ultimately, geese are wild animals and we should all do our best to give them space and respect their boundaries.

Want to treat your local geese? Shop duck and swan food online at WildThings. 

Curious about what badgers get up to? Here at WildThings, we answer all your burning questions about what they eat, where they sleep and how they spend their time. Read on for tales from the woods; a badger’s life.

Where do badgers sleep?

Badgers live way underground in a network of intersecting tunnels, known as a ‘sett’. Setts can range in size and complexity enormously; some can measure up to 100 metres with up to 50 separate entrances! Badger families tend to live together within these setts and a social group living together in the same sett is known as a ‘clan’. They all work together and they extend and enlarge their living quarters as they see fit. Setts take a long time to build and are usually passed down from generation to generation, with some setts being over 100 years old! 

Within the setts, badgers make nests out of dry grass, straw and dead leaves, which make lovely cosy beds for them to sleep in. These nests, as well as being underground, help them stay nice and warm in the winter months and safe from predators. 

What do badgers eat?

A badger’s diet is pretty varied. They forage for seeds and berries and are also known to chow down on earthworms, frogs, rodents, birds, insects and eggs. Occasionally, they may eat a hedgehog if they are unable to find other sources of food, but this is rare. The decline in hedgehog populations has occasionally been blamed on badgers but in reality, this is actually due to the destruction of hedgehogs’ natural habitats. 

Do badgers hibernate?

It’s a common myth that badgers hibernate during the winter months. While they may not actually hibernate, they do reduce their activity to a massive degree in order to preserve fat stores. That’s why the autumn months are usually dedicated to eating as much as possible, in order to accumulate the fat stores needed to see them through the winter. 

Do badgers come out during the day?

Badgers are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and wake up at night. Some time during the early evening, badgers begin to sniff the air at the entrance of their sett, ready for a long night of playing, foraging and socialising with their friends. 

The actual time badgers leave their sett is dependent on the time of year and what time the sun goes down. In the summer, they may actually emerge before it goes dark as they need time to find food when the nights are short. In winter, you probably won’t spot a badger until well after dark. 

When do badgers have babies?

Badgers can mate at any time during the year but birth normally occurs between January and March, after 6-7 weeks of gestation. Unlike most animals, badgers can actually delay implantation of a fertilised egg, which means that some female badgers can have a litter a year after mating. Badgers can have between one and five cubs in a litter and these cubs tend to live underground for the first twelve weeks of their lives. 

How can I recognise a badger? 

Badgers are very distinctive animals. With their black and white striped faces, short tail and grey fur, they are unmistakable when you spot one. They have long snouts and exceptionally sharp claws, which are particularly useful for all the digging they do!  

Badgers have unique footprints with five claws and base pads on each paw. This is very different from a fox’s footprint, for example, which is more like that of a dog. 

Badger setts are also very distinctive. The entrances are generally the shape of a sideways ‘D’, as opposed to a circular hole and doesn’t narrow within the entrance, unlike rabbit holes. There are several signs you can look out for that indicate a badger sett is active:

• Smooth sides around the entrances, which are the result of repeated use
• Signs of runs radiating out of the entrances
• Fresh ‘bedding’ near the entrances (such as leaves, hay and grass)
• Freshly excavated soil heaps near the entrances
• Signs of footprints or claw marks near the entrances

How can we help badgers?

The best thing you can do to help your local badgers is to leave food out for them. Leaving food out in the summer helps them accumulate fat to survive the winter and leaving food out during the colder months offers a much needed food source when badgers may struggle to find the sustenance they need. You can shop for high quality, nutritious badger food right here at WildThings. Don’t forget to leave out a bowl of fresh water too in case the badgers are feeling a bit parched. 

If you spot a badger out during the day, it may be ill or injured. Badgers are wild animals so make sure you keep your distance and call the RSPCA who will advise what you should do next.

Want to find out more about all the wonderful wildlife the UK has? Follow us on social media today.

If feeding the ducks at your local pond is one of your favourite pastimes, then you may be curious about the little fluffy ducklings you see each spring. Read on to find out more about the secret lives of ducklings…

Duckling eggs

The life of a duck follows a yearly cycle. Ducklings that hatched the year before return to their birthing ground to lay eggs and begin the new life cycle.

Once a female duck has laid her eggs, she will remain in her nest sitting securely so that   she blends perfectly into the background. A female duck will rarely leave the nest once her eggs have been laid, apart from short breaks to feed and stretch her legs.

After roughly 28 days, the eggs will hatch together which takes around 24 hours. Once hatched, the ducklings stay in their nests for at least 10 hours while they dry and get used to using their legs. 

Their first plight usually happens early in the morning when the female duck leads her ducklings to water. The trip can be delayed due to bad weather, however, the sooner the ducklings get to the water to feed, the better the chances of survival.

Baby ducklings

Ducklings cannot survive without their mother and take 50-60 days before they fledge (fly) and become independent. During this time, they remain under their mother’s supervision. they are able to swim and catch their own food but it can take a few tries for them to learn what is edible and what isn’t.

At this point the nest is often abandoned, although if it is close to the water the family may continue to use it for brooding and roosting, Baby ducklings still need the warmth of their mother’s down feathers, so she snuggles them to keep them warm.

Mallard ducks must also be protected by their mothers from other full-grown Mallards, as they tend to kill unfamiliar ducks that wander into their family grouping.

After the 50-60 days spent under the watchful eye of the female duck, the ducklings are able to fly and can leave the protection of the brood.

Teenage ducklings

By autumn, the now teenage ducklings are on their own and ready for two important events – moulting and migration. Part of a ducks life cycle, moulting is the replacing of old feathers which can leave the ducklings vulnerable to predators as they are unable to fly until their new feathers have grown. This process can take from two to three weeks.

Once molting is complete, they are able to fly again and the ducks migrate to warmer climates ready for the winter. This is a new experience for the ducklings who have not yet wandered far from where they hatched. The mother duck is at hand to assist the new migrants in finding and settling into the wintering habit. 

Britain will be the destination of choice for many ducks from colder parts of Europe and it is here they take up their winter residency.

Adult ducks

During the winter period and after the teenage ducklings have accomplished their first migration, the once small, fluffy ducklings are now adults and will spend their time in the southerly climates eating and storing reserves ready for the long flight back to their breeding grounds. Once they arrive home, the now adult ducks will be looking for a mating partner and nesting site ready for the arrival of some new baby ducks! And so begins the life cycle of a duckling again.

Feeding

Although many people believe that ducklings should be given bread to feed on, their favourite foods include seeds, aquatic vegetation, acorns, berries, plants, insects and shellfish. While ducks may enjoy eating your leftover loaf, this can actually harm them and contribute to water pollution. At WildThings we are working to help spread the message about the harm that bread can cause with our Better Than Bread campaign. This doesn’t mean that your favourite pastime has to stop; you can still feed them frozen peas, sweetcorn, lettuce or a specialised duck food such as WildThings Swan and Duck Food. 

Have you visited your local pond lately to see if you have any spring arrivals? Make sure you share pictures with us on our social channels.

Now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel (or at least we hope we can), it’s time to reflect on the year we’ve had. The impact of Covid-19 has been huge, affecting almost every aspect of human life as we know it and the physical world is no exception. Here at WildThings, we take a closer look at how the pandemic has had both a negative and positive impact on the environment over the last year.

What changed for the good?

When Boris Johnson told us we needed to ‘stay home’ in March 2020, we had no idea how long it would be for. Suddenly, all we were permitted was one walk a day and maybe the occasional trip to the supermarket. Working from home quickly became the new normal. The restrictions on movement, as well as the extensive travel restrictions, has resulted in a sudden drop in carbon emissions, pretty much worldwide. In conjunction with this, scientists have also noted drops in water pollution and significantly improved air quality. For years, pollution has had a catastrophic impact on ecological systems in the UK, so this sudden break in what was considered ‘normal’ life has worked wonders for biodiversity. 

Wildlife has benefited enormously from the drops in pollution and the decrease in traffic and tourism has enabled them to thrive and find new food sources. 

What changed for the bad?

The biggest tragedy to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic is of course all the lives lost. In order to treat the millions of people worldwide that had caught the virus, increases in medical supplies were needed. Unfortunately, this has led to an increase in medical waste in the form of masks and gloves, as well as an increase in haphazard use and disposal of disinfectants. All of these cause harm to the environment and the wildlife that inhabit our surroundings.

How can we make a change?

According to UK-based wildlife charity PTES (People’s Trust for Endangered Species), ‘Wildlife conservation – both within the UK and internationally – is in danger of being forgotten during the Covid-19 pandemic. Decades of conservation work could be undone through neglect and unintended consequences.’

So what can we do to make a change and maintain the positive impact Covid-19 has had on the environment? Luckily there are a few simple things you can do to protect the planet and local wildlife in the UK. 

Cycle instead of drive

Driving a car and riding on public transport both contribute to increased carbon emissions. Cycling to and from work goes a long way to help reduce these emissions and also does wonders for your physical and mental well being. Not to mention, it’s much easier to spot wildlife out on the road when riding a bike so this will help reduce the likelihood of them being hit by a car or bus. 

Continue to work from home

The landscape of how people work has changed a lot over the last year. Many businesses across the UK have now decided to continue to let their staff work from home post pandemic. As we’ve already mentioned, the reduction of cars on the road and reliance on public transport go a long way to establishing long term change for the better. Not to mention the considerable drop in noise pollution that would also stem from this.

Leave out wildlife food

Make sure you leave out wildlife food and a fresh water supply whenever you can. Local animals will only thrive when they have a food source they can rely on so it’s important for you to do your bit to help out. WildThings currently offer an amazing range of healthy wildlife food; shop online today.

Get involved

The sad reality of the situation is that people often get caught up in their own lives and forget all about protecting the planet and conservation efforts. Get involved with your local conservation and rescue centres and help spread the word about what people can do to protect wildlife! 

Want to keep up to date with WildThings? Connect with us on social media and find out what we get up to to protect local wildlife!

One of the best things about the UK is our beautiful surroundings and the wild animals that inhabit them. Over the last few decades, our environment has taken blow after blow, putting the nation’s wildlife at risk and causing considerable damage to their livelihood. At WildThings, we know just how important it is to take positive steps towards becoming more environmentally aware. Read on for 10 things you can do to become more eco-friendly in 2021.

Use recyclable products

We all know that non-recyclable products damage our environment but it is crucial to understand the reasons why. Plastic in particular contributes to global warming and its longevity makes it hard to get rid of. Discarded plastic spreads toxins and can threaten wildlife in numerous ways. When doing your weekly shop, always aim to buy products that have the recyclable logo on them then make sure you recycle them correctly; it doesn’t take much to do this but small changes in your everyday life can have a huge impact when applied on a mass scale. 

Choose natural ingredients

Synthetic ingredients, when used and washed down the drain often end up in the ocean, which has a domino effect on our environment. These chemicals can be toxic and have a negative impact on nature and threaten biodiversity. When in doubt, choose shampoos, conditioners and soaps that are made from natural, biodegradable ingredients. We live in a day and age where it’s never been easier to find exactly what you’re looking for- take advantage of this and take pride in knowing you’re doing your part to protect local wildlife!

Forgo fast fashion

Sure the prices are attractive, but fast fashion has quite a damaging effect on our environment. Clothes are being mass produced in enormous quantities using synthetic fibres- which can be very harmful when ingested by animals. Before buying new clothes, it’s worth checking what they’re made of and avoid textiles such as polyester. Many fashion retailers are becoming more eco-friendly so look for labels that are making a concerted effort to reduce emissions and water pollution. 

Say no to plastic straws

It’s great news that the UK has confirmed a ban on single-use straws. As it turns out, people in England use an estimated 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds each year. This has a catastrophic impact on wildlife and biodiversity to say the least. Say no to plastic straws anytime you’re offered them and invest in a metal or bamboo straw instead. Added bonus- you can actually use these kinds more than once!

Go digital 

We live in the 21st century; printing just isn’t necessary most of the time. You can minimise your carbon footprint by keeping things digital. Sure, we all like to have conversations around the printer, coffee in hand (at least before Covid-19, anyway) but if you don’t need to print, then don’t. Most companies will now allow you to make the change to e-bills too, so it’s worth doing that if you haven’t already.

Conserve water

An abundance of fresh, clean water is crucial for biodiversity to thrive. We often use more water than we need without even realising it and as much as we all love a nice hot bath, we aren’t doing our environment any favours. Take shorter showers, make sure the tap is off when you brush your teeth and use a washing up bowl for dishes rather than leaving the water running. All these little things add up in the long run! 

Grow, grow, grow

Growing your own fruit, vegetables and plants can have a positive impact on the environment. It is more sustainable to eat food you’ve grown yourself and the addition of plants to your garden can offer safety, shelter and sustenance for wildlife. You can go one step further by researching what plants are native to your specific area and support the local ecosystem by growing them and allowing them to thrive. 

Respect your local wildlife

If you’re even reading this article we’re willing to bet you’re passionate about wildlife. However, these are wild animals we’re talking about and they need to be treated as such. It is important not to interfere with their habitats when you’re out on a walk or try to pet a roaming hedgehog. Unless the animals are in trouble in some way, respect their boundaries and let them thrive doing what they do best. 

Are you taking steps to becoming more eco-friendly in 2021? Connect with us on social and share what you’ve been up to!