Itchy-scratchy hedgehog

Delighted to find this hedgehog in the garden this morning - the first I've seen here for a couple of years. 

Hedgehogs are notoriously prone to tick and flea infestations and this one really seemed to be suffering today, stopping several times to have a really good scratch.

You can see in the two photos above how it uses its hind legs alternately to reach up to the middle of its back and rake through its spines.

Those long claws must be quite effective for raking out parasites.

It's certainly not an elegant performance, as you can see from the two photos above. Notice the short, pointed tail - hidden when the animal is on even keel.

I've put a short piece of video of the ungainly grooming performance - click here to watch

Welcome visitors

Three baby hedgehogs have been snuffling around the undergrowth in our garden at dusk recently, and spending the days sleeping in the flower borders. I suspect that their mother must have nested in the accumulation of dead leaves under the beech hedge. 

Hedgehog numbers seem to have plummeted around here over the last couple of years, judging by the very low number of road casualties that I've seen.