Badgers, Butterflies and a Muck Heap

Following my sighting of Badgers mating I went to an elderly man who lives in the village who has been watching Badgers for years. I knew that he too had seen this years ago. I know the reaction that he had when he told others, as I have had the same reaction that of not being believed. Myself and this gentleman share that experience but also the experience of seeing remarkable behaviour.

One of the interesting things I have discovered is that this man is nearly eighty. He has never revealed his age before, but as he is beginning to really feel his age, he is starting to think that he no longer has to try and protect the Badgers single handed. Something he has been doing for years.

While there are fewer people with the understanding of the natural world that are prepared to endure the difficulties and inclement weather to keep these badgers protected, there are enough to feel that the local population is not at serious risk. That said, the North East of England always tops the league when it comes to act of animal cruelty. Further, there are still plenty of failed laboratory experiments that feel that activities like Badger baiting is still worth carrying out. Even though it is illegal, people (these failed laboratory experiments) are still a serious threat to the Badgers. That is why I am careful about not revealing to much about locations.

That was why I was worried that the sett had been disturbed. But as I found, it was in fact that two badgers were setting up home. The Brock appears to be an outsider. Males will get driven out of the sett by the dominant male, the Old Brock who has the mating rights. So it is a logical assumption that he has been travelling looking for a new territory. Also young females like this Sow, who is about two years old, I have seen her grow up from a cub, has become attracted to this new male. This movement of males and pairing with young females is one of the ways that ensures that close relatives don't breed. While it does happen, that normally only happens when there is small isolated populations.

One of the evolutionary aspects that have enabled Badgers to be as resilient and successful as they are, is that the female can and will delay the implanting of the fertilised egg(s). The gestation is normally about four months, but badgers always give birth at the end of February beginning of March. They give birth as the food supply starts to increase, if they gave birth in the grip of winter they would have problems digging for the earthworms that form ninety percent of their diet from the frozen soil.

I will be watching the sett carefully over the coming weeks and months as it is likely that other young females could well join the group.

As well as this checking that I did today, I went out trying to film butterflies. I did get some interesting footage and one that I personally have not seen before, I will have to check my books before trying to name it, but I doubt that he is called Fred. The location where I saw the butterflies is new for me. I had asked permission to venture on to the land for something else, but it took time to get that permission so the original reason has passed. However, the land owner told me that the pasture was also rich in wild flowers and insects. Therefore I took some time today to see what was there. Within ten minutes I had seen eight different species of butterflies as well a numerous insects. Indeed the place is as rich as promised. The only problem that I had was that the sun was high, full and hot that meant the butterflies were very lively. That makes it impossible to film. Well for me. I will return and see what else may be lurking there.

Latter in the day as I was thinking of home, I went via a footpath that goes through a farm that keeps horses. Because of this and the fact that they have a nice muck heap, its a great place for insect eating birds. Indeed the sky was full of Martins. I did stop to see if I could film them in flight but I need to work out a plan to do that as they are to fast to do that ad hock. But I did stop to see if I could film the Pied Wagtails. This required me stopping right at the muck heap. As one of the people at the farm said; “that's no bed of roses” Oh the joy of filming wildlife.