Autumn hedgerows

There’s a definite feel of Autumn about. There are cold mornings, and almost all of the swallows have gone. After the very poor summer we had, there are very few wasps and other insect species around. The first skylarks have deserted the high ground on the Comeraghs and Slievenamon and are searching for food in the stubble fields.

 Even in late Autumn, there are still some wild flowers in bloom. The Herb-robert is a favourite of mine. It's a type of geranium which has red stems and pink flowers with 5 petals. It grows on walls and under hedgerows and flowers from May to October. In my garden the Red Clover and Dandelions are still in bloom and are visited by late-flying butterflies such as the Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoishell. There are still Speckled Woods to be seen along the hedgerows. There are still a few purple flowers on the Bush Vetch which is a climber in hedges but the best climber of all is Traveller's Joy. It is a type of clematis which has feathery seed heads and this gives the plant its other common name, Old man's beard. There is a huge bank of this creeper near the parking area at Marlfield lake.



The leaves on the Beech trees are turning a warm red-brown colour but they are no match for the brilliant yellows and reds of the Maple. There are plenty of rose hips on the Dog-rose and plenty of haws on the Hawthorn. The brambles produced a poor crop of blackberries this year and many just didn’t ripen.  With a poor year for insects, nuts and berries, the peanuts in the feeders in my garden will be in big demand. My bird-table is situated across the road from a long line of Beech trees and the Blue Tits, Great Tits and Chaffinches will make the most of the beech-nuts before they visit my garden. The Blackbirds and Song Thrushes are concentrating on the Elder berries and Blackberries and the Mistle Thrushes are busy feeding on the berries of the Rowan or Mountain Ash. In the next few days, the first Redwings will arrive from Iceland and Scandinavia and will start feeding on the ruby coloured haws on the Hawthorns.



Scarlet Elf's Cap



Autumn is the time of year for fungi and most varieties are found in the leaf-litter on the woodland floor.  Some are easily identified like the Scarlet Elf’s Cap, Puff ball, Shaggy Ink Cap or Lawyer's Wig and others are quite difficult to identify. Because many of these fungi are poisonous it is best not to eat them unless you are with an expert. However, they are worth having a good look at. There are Russulas with moist red or purple caps, Wood Blewits and a lovely purple one called Amethyst deceiver. The most prized of all is the Penny Bun or Boletus edulis.  Once again I stress, if in doubt, don't eat them. I know of two ladies who accidentally ate Death Cap fungus during September. One was very ill and the other had to have a liver transplant.

The hungry hedgehog

Hedgehogs are amazing little creatures. They evolved about 20 million years ago. Because they have been so successful, they have changed very little over this time period. The hedgehog seems to have been introduced to Ireland in the 13^th century, either accidentally or for food. The Irish name for the Hedgehog is Grainneog which means the horrible one. This name seems a bit harsh, especially since this animal causes no problems for us. In fact, a hedgehog can be a great help to the gardener.

Hedgehog eating dogfood

In Ireland, hedgehogs hibernate from about December to April. They spend the coldest months tucked up in a nest under a shed or in a hedge. They come out of hibernation occasionally, to urinate or even to move to a new nest. I have noticed several dead hedgehogs on roadsides recently. Death on the roads may be significant but is not thought to be a major factor controlling hedgehog numbers. Interestingly, more males than females are killed on the roads, probably because they travel further in search of females.

They forage at night for beetles, worms, caterpillars, slugs, earwigs and millipedes. They will occasionally eat birds' eggs, fruit and berries, when they are available. By eating slugs and snails, the hedgehog does the gardener a favour. Their eyesight is poor but their sense of smell is well developed. They make snorting noises as they search for food and this is probably where the 'hog' part of its name came from. A hedgehog may travel up to 3km in a night in search of food. You could attract them to your garden by putting out dog-food for them at night. This supplementary food might become critical in early winter when the hedgehog has to accumulate fat for hibernation. They must reach a weight of 450g in order to have enough reserves to make through the winter. Milk and bread are not suitable food for hedgehogs.

Apart from road deaths, causes of mortality in hedgehogs include poisoning from eating slugs which have eaten toxic slug pellets and predation by badgers and foxes. The hedgehog's usual defence of rolling itself into a tight ball, with only spines sticking out, is no match for the powerful jaws of a badger. They also have a tendency to fall into cattle grids.

Over the past few years, a hedgehog has taken up residence in our garden. He or she seems to be a loner because we have never seen more than one at a time and we have never seen young ones. In the past week, our hedgehog has been out looking for food in the garden in broad daylight, two hours before sunset. I put out some tinned dog food for him and he ate half a tin in one night. I hope that hunger has not forced him to forage early. Although it has been a very poor summer, the numbers of worms and slugs should not have been adversely affected.