Three Hoglets!

Welcome back. This morning there are three hoglets outside the nest. They're really gorgeous, small and plump, lots of spikes and their eyes closed. They're all tucked up in the nest with Mrs.Tiggywinkle tonight.

Today a large dragonfly came into the conservatory. We don't know much about dragonflies. Does anyone know what kind this is? We'd like to know.

The weather has again been really nice today, but the pollen count must be very high, as the boys are suffering from their hayfever badly tonight.

We received a lovely email from Jan Whittington, who has the baby bat which Ross rescued from school, she says, "My goodness how she has grown! She has got very used to me handling her and although she shouts at me when I first pick her up, she settles very quickly and eats like there is no tomorrow! She does get m/w juice all over the place, so when we have finished feeding (about 3 times a day) I wet a tissue and wash her face. She seems to enjoy this pampering and finishes up looking really good. I found she had difficulty cleaning round the places her tongue wouldn't reach!She stretches her wings every day so I shall have to start flying her soon so she gets the proper exercise. I have just (yesterday) picked up another baby just like she was and am feeding that one every 3 hours. It just has goats milk at the moment. It looks like a Whiskered too but it is difficult to be sure, it's so small. If it is, then I shall introduce them when they are both weaned properly and they can share their home and talk to each other!"

More tales tomorrow. Thank you for reading.

Mrs.Tiggywinkle's Baby

Hello everyone. Apologies for not writing our blog for a few days, but we have been visiting Nanny Braund daily at Exeter Hospital, so we have got rather behind, but the good news is that she has come home, back to Walland Farm, with us all today.

Great news, on Friday Mrs.Tigglywinkle, one of our four hedgehogs, started to make a nest. Rossi and Roy moved her from the Barn Owl aviary into an area on her own and on Saturday and Sunday we heard or saw nothing of her. This morning I went to open the Mini Zoo door and to my great excitement, there just outside the nesting box was a hoglet, really tiny, eyes closed, just wandering around. With some hay, we carefully picked up the hoglet and put it back in the box with Mrs.Tiggywinkle, keen not to disturb them. The hoglet was really healthy and everyone here at Hill Top can't wait until the baby surfaces in a week or two, but how many are there? Can't wait to find out - we'll keep you informed. Here is a picture of the little hoglet - thought to be between 24 and 48 hrs old.

On another note, a barn owl note, part of an egg shell was found outside Bracken and Dreamer's nesting box. Are there any owlets? Dreamer is very aggressive, so it could be. We will not disturb them, we will let you know as soon as we see anything.

We'll be back to our daily blog now Nanny Braund is home, so keep reading.

Spot the Squirrel!

Hello again.

Did anyone know the name of the flower we found yesterday?

Today the weather has been really hot and the canaries have been enjoying their new indoor/outdoor cage.

We've had several squirrels on the front lawn. One of them is a really small baby squirrel, but it was much too fast to photograph. Can you spot the squirrel in this picture?

Still no sign of owlets. We keep listening, but as soon as we hear or see anything we will let you know.

More stories tomorrow.

Cool Canaries

Welcome back. Today started very early for us. At 3.10 a.m. Rossi woke up to notice that the fish tank in his bedroom had about an inch left of water in it. His bedroom floor was flooded and so was the small lounge below his bedroom. The tank, for some unknown reason, produced a large crack in the bottom. It was a rush to rescue the fish and put them in another tank and then clear up all the water.

It's been a really busy day, with the usual cleaning out of the animals, but today we opened up the new small aviary for the canaries. They can stay inside now, or go outside, the choice is theirs. They were certainly cool today. They all decided to explore and come out, so it was really nice to see them enjoying the fresh air and singing with a neighbouring Robin.

We have been busy planting the teacups and then we discovered a small purple flower, with a yellow centre. Does anyone know the name of this flower? We would like to know.

Much more news tomorrow. Thank you for reading our Blog.

Rossi's Whiskered Bat

Hello everyone.

We thought you might just like to see how Rossi's rescued Bat is getting on. Janice, who is looking after the Bat sent this picture. She says, "It is dinner time and she is covered in mealworm juice. She spent the next few hours licking it all off and grooming."

It's lovely to see that she is doing well.

Back tomorrow with more stories.

Can Someone Please Help This Seal?

Hello everyone and welcome back - sorry we have missed a couple of days, but Nanny Braund is still very ill in Hospital.

Firstly, great news on the Bat which Rossi rescued from school last week. Janice Whittington of Tarka Ecology who is looking after our bat, with others which she has rescued, has said today that "The little bat is doing well so far. She won't feed herself yet but is eating about 3 - 4 squeezed out mealworms each feed and has goats milk also. She gets m/w juice all over her face but washes herself and is always clean again next time I feed her." This is great news. We will give you further updates, as we receive them.

Secondly, Beth at the Hartland Wildlife Rescue sent me this picture of a seal which has been spotted around Lundy Island, over the last 2-3 years. The RSPCA have been informed, and apparently did not know where Lundy Island was and said they would send a driver out to check it out!!! (We wonder which road they will take!) Someone needs to help this seal to free it from the net. Can anyone help?

Everything is good here at Hill Top. We have some wonderful American visitors staying for a few days, they are lovely people and really enjoying North Devon.

Dreamer is still sitting on three eggs, so we are all getting excited - probably about another two weeks to go!

Speak to you again tomorrow. Bye from all at Hill Top.

Sign of Spring

Welcome back to another good day at Hill Top.

Today everyone has been really busy. Rossi has been cleaning out the Mini Zoo and today we have moved Millie back into the cage with the other three hedgehogs. The lawns have been cut and the driveway strimmed and the weather has been fantastic. The view across the bay is really stunning.

The Bat Rossi rescued from school is doing fine. Beth from the Hartland Wildlife Rescue took the Bat to see a Bat expert called Jan near Torrington. She said the Bat was a girl and that it was a Whiskered Bat and so the Bat was left with Jan, to be with other bats of the same kind. The Whiskered bat has shaggy fur that can be a dark brown, greyish brown or light brown on its back and a dark or light grey on its underside. The nose, ears and wing membranes are all a blackish brown in colour. The Whiskered bat is very similar to the Brandt’s bat in appearance but tends to generally be slightly darker.

Really exciting news about the The Barn Owls. When we found the empty egg shell on the floor we felt really sad as we thought there were no more, but today we had a look and Dreamer is stitting on three eggs. We will keep you updated.

Keep watching our Blog for more stories of life at Hill Top.