Hedgehog

Erinaceus europaeus by Michael Gäbler. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Abbey came across an Erinaceus europaeus strolling across our lawn the other night. It's the first one we've seen in the garden for five or more years. Somehow a hedgehog always cheers you up. There's something nice and unassuming about them, as well as the fact that they consume many 'pests' in the garden. Unfortunately, but the time she'd shut the chickens away and got her phone it had scurried away into the bushes.
We reflected on how common they seemed to be when we were children. Our own kids have only seen a live hedgehog once and they are now on the Biodiversity Action Plan for the UK as a threatened species, having an estimated decline of around 25% over the last couple of decades.
Furze-pig is a great colloquial name for them. They can make funny noises too.