Back to the Wild for Mr Prickles

After locking up yesterday it was time to release Mr Prickles as he had made such a good recovery. I chose a piece of woodland on the reserve that was as far away as possible from any roads and badgers. It turned out he fitted very well into a bucket, which made transportation a little easier.



The release wasn't a very elegant process as he stayed fast asleep so I just had to roll him out of the bucket into some brambles to keep him hidden away until he woke up. Fingers crossed he had a good night exploring his new home.



Today has been a less successful day for Michelle 'Wildlife Rescue Ranger' as whilst unlocking the hides I found a deceased mole in the middle of the path. This is the second one in two weeks. Again, in a similar way to the hedgehog it is probably the dry weather which is the cause. The dry weather means earthworms borrow deeper into the ground and so they are out of reach of the moles tunnels.



I was quite fascinated by his very large front feet. They are perfect miniature shovels for digging through the ground.



At lunch time I met one of the children who had visited with her school during the week and had brought her daddy along especially to see the dead mole. So it was a lucky eerie coincidence that I had moved the dead mole to the grass by the pond where the other one was found!

It has been a very soggy day today but it did not put off the intrepid river explorers on the family river dipping event this morning. We went pond dipping, looked in the moth trap and splashed about in the river where we found a fantastic male minnow in his breeding colours of bright red and green - quite a stunner!

Our next family event is 'Catch the Bug' on 11th June when we will be exploring the meadow with sweep nets in the persual of grasshoppers, crickets, damselflies, ladybirds and lots more - book your place now!