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The terrace fills with swift scurryings as the hedgehog family emerges The terrace fills with swift scurryings as the hedgehog family emerges
(4 days later)
Each evening, as the shadows thicken into opacity, the scufflings and snufflings, the grunts and squeals begin from a bank of dense undergrowth below the terrace. At this time of day, Pyrenean air like cool velvet, I sit on the bench, my cat and dog joining me there and grooming themselves after their dinner.Each evening, as the shadows thicken into opacity, the scufflings and snufflings, the grunts and squeals begin from a bank of dense undergrowth below the terrace. At this time of day, Pyrenean air like cool velvet, I sit on the bench, my cat and dog joining me there and grooming themselves after their dinner.
These rituals of stillness and habituation are crucial in watching wildlife. Enacting them reminds me of Chris Ferris's entrancing field journal of a night naturalist, The Darkness is Light Enough (1986). Her assertion that our vision adapts quickly to lack of light is palpably true as I watch for the noise-makers to emerge. My pets, interest assuaged by the sharp discomforts of past encounters, barely twitch an ear. The terrace is suddenly full of swift scurryings as the hedgehog family emerges.These rituals of stillness and habituation are crucial in watching wildlife. Enacting them reminds me of Chris Ferris's entrancing field journal of a night naturalist, The Darkness is Light Enough (1986). Her assertion that our vision adapts quickly to lack of light is palpably true as I watch for the noise-makers to emerge. My pets, interest assuaged by the sharp discomforts of past encounters, barely twitch an ear. The terrace is suddenly full of swift scurryings as the hedgehog family emerges.
They do not, in Hardy's phrase, "travel furtively". They race around, scramble over my feet, stand on hind legs, peer up with twitching noses at the bench and its occupants, are playful and curious as chasing puppies. What lures them here night after night are the remnants of Phoebe's and Isabella's dinners. These pets of mine being fussy eaters, there are rich pickings to be had. One youngster has scrambled into the cat bowl, while a parent nibbles its way through dog biscuits. All the while each animal keeps up a vociferous commentary, the volume of which tells you that this is a creature with few natural predators and little need to conceal its presence, though I have come across their dry and scooped-out skins over the years in the vicinity of badger setts and fox earths.They do not, in Hardy's phrase, "travel furtively". They race around, scramble over my feet, stand on hind legs, peer up with twitching noses at the bench and its occupants, are playful and curious as chasing puppies. What lures them here night after night are the remnants of Phoebe's and Isabella's dinners. These pets of mine being fussy eaters, there are rich pickings to be had. One youngster has scrambled into the cat bowl, while a parent nibbles its way through dog biscuits. All the while each animal keeps up a vociferous commentary, the volume of which tells you that this is a creature with few natural predators and little need to conceal its presence, though I have come across their dry and scooped-out skins over the years in the vicinity of badger setts and fox earths.
The bowls emptied out, those beady eyes and delicate snouts search around for further nourishment. The largest of them munches away at a slow worm, slender and beautifully bronze, while a companion sits upright over a large black slug. The sight of this turns my stomach, though it's a blessing for the brassicas in my vegetable patch.The bowls emptied out, those beady eyes and delicate snouts search around for further nourishment. The largest of them munches away at a slow worm, slender and beautifully bronze, while a companion sits upright over a large black slug. The sight of this turns my stomach, though it's a blessing for the brassicas in my vegetable patch.
• The 2013 William Condry Memorial Lecture will be given by Mark Cocker on "Birds and People: the Cultural Riches of Nature, the Social Cost of Extinction", at Tabernacl/MoMA Machynlleth, 7pm, Saturday 5 October. Tickets £5 (including refreshments) on the door. More details at www.thecondrylecture.co.uk• The 2013 William Condry Memorial Lecture will be given by Mark Cocker on "Birds and People: the Cultural Riches of Nature, the Social Cost of Extinction", at Tabernacl/MoMA Machynlleth, 7pm, Saturday 5 October. Tickets £5 (including refreshments) on the door. More details at www.thecondrylecture.co.uk
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