Check-In Post - April 29th 2025

[badly_knitted]

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.


This Week's Question: Do you change crafts with the season or stick to the same crafts year round?


If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

Comments

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I have a pond for frogs and newts<<

Awesome.

>> especially hedgehogs which are gradually making a comeback in my are after vanishing for almost 20 years<<

Given how they like to root around, they might help against the weevils. I've seen a campaign to install hedgehog doors in fences around yards.

>>The native birds in my area have changed completely since I was a kid. Species that used to be abundant have vanished, and species I never saw as a kid are now everywhere.<<

There's been turnover here in central Illinois too. But today I saw two red-headed woodpeckers, that I haven't seen in years, although they used to be common.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

The hedgehogs could well help. It's good having them back after so long. Around here, we have hedges between gardens, but many people fence their gardens with chicken wire or whatever to keep their dogs / small children / chickens from getting out. That makes life tough for hedgehogs, but at the same time it's understandable that people want to keep their pets and kids safe.

WE used to have thrushes, but the cats finished those off. House sparrows, starlings, greenfinches... all disappeared. Getting a few starlings back now, and the odd sparrow, but we get coal tits and long tailed tits, black caps, goldfinches, the occasional goldcrest, which are so tiny, and jackdaws. There are a lot of other bird species too, those are just the relative newcomers.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>The hedgehogs could well help. It's good having them back after so long. Around here, we have hedges between gardens, but many people fence their gardens with chicken wire or whatever to keep their dogs / small children / chickens from getting out.<<

Here is a sample hedgehog door that can be cut out of metal, wood, etc. for modifying fences or other barriers. Sized for hedgehogs, it's too small for most other creatures except maybe very young kittens or puppies -- and if you have those, you could just put a brick over it for a few weeks until they get bigger. Hedgehog doors help by making easier for them to roam across many yards in search of food and mates.

And some plans for hedgehog homes:

Above ground:
https://www.tcv.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/TCV-How-to-make-a-hedgehog-home-compressed.pdf

Buried:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/data/HEDGEHOGHOME_2014.pdf

An all-purpose hibernaculum can serve hedgehogs as well as reptiles and amphibians, so long as the entrance pipes and den spaces are large enough for them to enter. Just use the same dimensions that hedgehog doors have.
https://shetlandcommunitywildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/scwg_hibernaculum_final.pdf

>>WE used to have thrushes, but the cats finished those off. House sparrows, starlings, greenfinches... all disappeared.<<

Interestingly, I find that signs of predation almost always indicate invasive species of birds such as house sparrows or starlings. It's rare to see the remains of native songbirds. Based on my observations, songbirds are wary creatures, whereas sparrows and starlings are bold -- it may get them more food, but it makes them more vulnerable to anything looking for a feathered meal. I suspect habitat changes may account for more of the drift in observed bird species.

I saw the two red-headed woodpeckers again today. I'm so hoping they stick around for the breeding season!

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

Thanks for the links!


The problem with the thrushes were that they stay on the ground when they fledge, making them easy prey for cats despite good visual camouflage. If the young don't survive, there goes the species. The house sparrows have gone because people are having new roofs on their houses that don't leave a way in for them. The same is true for swifts. So many used to nest under the eaves of local houses, but now there's nowhere for them to nest. I haven't heard a single swift this year. They used to fill the sky throughout summer. I miss them.

Glad your woodpeckers are sticking around!

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>The problem with the thrushes were that they stay on the ground when they fledge, making them easy prey for cats despite good visual camouflage.<<

Yeah, mourning doves here spend a lot of time on the ground and are more likely to get eaten.

>>The house sparrows have gone because people are having new roofs on their houses that don't leave a way in for them. The same is true for swifts.<<

Here are there loads of house sparrows. We used to have lots of barn owls and barn swallows, but as you said, changes in architecture have been hard on them. However, last year I saw lots of purple martins for the first time, and they're back this year. One yard had like 3 houses, all full. Before this, I would see plenty of houses but never martins. So I'm happy to see them.

Re: Well ...

[badly_knitted]

It's a shame that certain species are so much more vulnerable to predators just because of the way they behave.

At least some species are flourishing.