Nature on your doorstep
Autumn is here!
23 September was the autumn equinox, when day and night are almost exactly the same length. From now on, the nights grow longer than the days, the air gets cooler and the leaves begin to fall.
Lots of animals notice these changes, and one little visitor is especially busy: the hedgehog.
Hedgehogs spend autumn eating as much as they can: beetles, worms, caterpillars and slugs. They build up a store of fat to keep them going through winter, when there is very little food around.
As the nights get colder, hedgehogs gather dry leaves and grass and tuck them under hedges, log piles or sheds to make a snug winter nest.
Hedgehogs hibernate from around November until March or April. Their heartbeat and breathing slow right down to save energy. On milder days they sometimes wake up and move to a new nest.
As the days get shorter and cooler, trees stop making the green colour in their leaves. As the green fades, the yellows and oranges that were hiding underneath start to show, and some trees add reds too. Then the leaves fall to the ground.
Those fallen leaves are just what hedgehogs need. They pack lots of big, dry leaves together into a thick, cosy nest that keeps out the wind and rain all winter long.
🍂 Why we love leaves: just as the leaves change with the seasons, children are always growing and changing too. It's where our name, Changing Leaf, comes from.
Spotted a hedgehog in the daytime? Or a very small one late in autumn? It may need help. Call the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890 801, or visit britishhedgehogs.org.uk for first aid advice and to find your nearest hedgehog rescue.
📚 Share a hedgehog story: Ouch! by Ragnhild Scamell, illustrated by Michael Terry. Hedgehog has just finished her cosy winter nest when a juicy apple falls and sticks to her spines. Now she can't fit inside! Her friends try to help, but things don't quite go to plan.
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