How to check your bonfire for hedgehogs
We can all take steps to protect hedgehogs on bonfire night. Follow our 4 steps to make sure you keep hedgehogs safe.
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Water vole by Terry Whittaker/2020VISION
Chwilio
My night club
Ania and Becky know that wildlife can be found in unexpected places at unusual times, and surveying bats in the centre of Taunton at night is nothing out of the ordinary for them.
My opening night
In the drama of the open spaces around her, Emily can play the role of a lifetime. She knows the wildlife of the nature reserve as intimately as Yorick knew Hamlet, and with an audience of birds,…
My out of office
When Andrew gets away from his desk, he likes to escape to the Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve. From bramble bashing to bonfire building and clearing ponds, he’s always learning new ways to…
My hair of the dog
After a Friday night out on the town, James and Claire love a brisk morning walk at Newlands Corner to blow away the cobwebs.
Stone curlew
Stone curlews are unusual waders with large yellow eyes - perfect for hunting beetles at night.
Violet ground beetle
Violet ground beetles are active predators, coming out at night to hunt slugs and other invertebrates in gardens, woodlands and meadows.
Corncrake
This secretive bird is a member of the rail family, related to coots and moorhens. The breeding call, a rasping rattle, is given mostly at night, sometimes for hours on end.
Nightingale
The melodious song of the nightingale is the most likely sign of this bird being about. Shy and secretive, it sings from dense scrub and woodland, day and night.
Wood sorrel
A delicate, small plant of woodlands and hedgerows, wood-sorrel has distinctive, trefoil leaves and white flowers with purple veins; both fold up at night.
Deathwatch beetle
Famed for its tapping in the middle of the night, supposedly heralding tragedy, the Deathwatch beetle is a serious wood-boring pest. In houses, their tunnelling can cause major damage.
White campion
At night, the pretty, white blooms of white campion produce a heady scent, attracting feeding moths. Look for this wildflower along hedgerows and roadside verges, and on waste ground.