Alderney has a rare population of blonde hedgehogs and during our holiday my Aunty arranged for us to go for a walk with a local guide to see if we could find some.

A blonde hedgehog is classified as having a pink nose and pink feet. The hogs on the island are free to mate as they wish so sometimes you see a nursing mum with a mix of brown and blonde babies.

We saw both colours and we allowed to stroke them and pick up the blond ones. Their spines feel very different, the blonde spines are much softer but much softer.

The hogs on Alderney are much smaller than those on the mainland UK.

Hedgehogs mainly eat bugs and beetles, not slugs like most people think. At this time of year they also eat blackberries and we know this because we found lots of soft runny purple poos close to the hogs.

The guide, Suzy, has been researching and monitoring the hedgehogs on Alderney for 15 years and at this time of year she weighs the little ones. Once she has weighed them she sprays them with a bit of purple spray so she can tell which ones she has weighed.

I took along a soft golden hedgehog that I have so it could make new friends.

As part of our weekend in Aberystwyth we visited the Magic of Life Butterfly House.

I really liked it as you get to dip your fingers into nectar pots and then the butterflies will step onto your hand.

Learning Opportunities:

• learning about (and holding) a preying mantis
• spotting and watching stick insects
• the butterfly lifecycle
  • egg
  • caterpillar (larva)
  • chrysalis (pupa)
  • butterfly
• identifying different species of butterflies
• learning about habitats