What a White Christmas hopefully much enjoyed by all whilst providing food and water for our wild life.  Some such as Hedgehogs and Dormice can hibernate during this tough time though for various reasons they can be disturbed.  A Wildlife Rescue Centre near to my home reported more than the usual baby hedgehogs handed in to their team of helpers taking care of the necessary feeding going forward to a release in early Spring.  A permanent Hedgehog Box in the garden, a weatherproofed wooden box with an access hole and full of hay or straw, can provide a welcome winter home to at least one hog and you may be pleasantly surprised with a resident family in the garden who will keep down the slug etc population in return.  Dormice are one of a very select band of true mammalian hibernators in Britain.  For such a small animal it’s easier to conserve energy sleeping than spending time foraging.

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Hibernation is an almost complete stop – temperature drops well below 10c but not below 1c, heart rate slows and the breathing rate can be one every couple of minutes.  In this state the mouse can survive for months without food and will take at least 20 minutes to rouse from hibernation which usually spans from November to April.  Because Dormice numbers have declined by about 50 per cent over the last 100 years, their conservation is a national priority with the use of Nest Boxes to log population.  A work colleague discovered a Dormouse had set up home in some wood beside their garden shed and a good friend of mine with a talent for making Bird Nest Boxes has adapted the design to a box as a new Home Sweet Home for their mouse.  RSPB outlets and Garden Centres retail a good selection of Wildlife Habitats including Frogitats ‘des res’ for frogs and toads.  Such delights can capture the imagination of children and carry their Wildlife interest through to adult life as is in my case!

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Knowing birds will roost in Nest Boxes my friend and I have provided several in both our gardens for overnight use during this harsh winter and hopefully Spring/Summer nesting.  The boxes he has designed and constructed have some amazing features such as watertight seaming, tiled roof detail etc.  One can go OTT and have some fun in the making of a Bird Nesting Box and at the end of the day be rewarded with habitation as long as the box is functional and well placed.  A box with a part open fronted access if preferred by Robins, Wrens and Pied Wagtails whilst the classic 32mm circular entry hole will attract Blue Tits, Great Tits and many others.  Feeder Cameras are readily available for a ‘birds eye’ view of bird family progress to your home laptop or TV, again, an inspiration to young birders.

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Those visitors to The Exmoor White Horse Inn will no doubt have seen Peter’s photographs of The Magnificent Seven, the line of trees on a hill near Horner.  Peter has captured their magnificence through many seasons and I am chuffed to have got close enough to snap them in the snow……………and they look ‘Magnificent’.  Happy New Year.

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Written by Sherryl Woods

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