Badgers and Orchids

Because of a couple of long very busy days, by five in the afternoon I found myself falling asleep. So I decided to go to bed. Getting back up at ten, once I had eaten I decided to use this time productively. Therefore I went off to check out the two new badger setts. While there is nothing significant to report with them, I am curious why these have appeared at this time.

In the normal course of events, less dominant female badgers will move to other setts and this helps prevent in breeding. Also males will be driven out from a family group again preventing these males from mating with sisters and other closely related group members. Additionally, while the family group maintains a large central home sett, that group will have smaller satellite setts where different members of the family can go off to cool off or get away from tensions. Much like the way that humans can and will avoid other members of the family to maintain harmony.

Therefore, while having one new sett starting within an existing territory is rare, it does happen. However, having this happen twice appears outside what happens normally. It could just be that it has not been recorded before, so at the moment I am working on the hypothesis that something has happened that has disturbed or disturbed another sett elsewhere.

I may never find out what has caused this to happen, and the two new setts are settling down quite well, thus while this may be a curiosity it could also be that this is quite normal. What also has me wondering is why the dominant male has allowed this? As the old Brock became a road kill in February and a younger male took over it could be that this is the special circumstance that is at the root of this. In some ways it shows just how little we know about even common animals.

This relates to other work I have been doing. I have been busy preparing a report for a site looking at what species are there, what species are missing and what improvements can be made to increase biodiversity. While much of the work is looking at what foods are there for a particular species, then overlaying these matrix networks, it is possible to work out where there are gaps in food plants or insects on a site. Therefore, it then becomes relatively easy to see where habitat restoration work is needed.

However, sometimes it is not that easy, as you can provide the right foods, the right conditions and a species that you would expect to be there just is not present. It is often what we don't know or yet understand that is the important factor.

Equally, a species may be present yet because we don't have any knowledge of behaviour or lifestyle and behaviour, to know what is needed to encourage this species. On this site there is, apparently, a rare orchid but I cant find any substantive information regarding its needs to be able to offer any real help as to what needs to be done not only to ensure its survival or how to improve the habitat to encourage its numbers. This also means that not knowing what the needs of this plant are, any other work that improves conditions for other species could inadvertently harm this orchid.

I have not yet visited the site in Yorkshire, I can not and will not reveal more than that about the location, but I hope that by seeing the site will provide some clues as to what work if any could and more importantly should be done.

While I don't claim to be an expert, there are holes in what we know about natural history that means we can not assume we have all the answers. That is why watching and studying wildlife is so exciting and fascinating.

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.

Sex Kites and Videotape

Yesterday I had all those mundane things to do. Not very exciting but they had to be done and you cant buy a slave at Tesco. Therefore, I was not expecting that much exciting to happen today. Also when I had finished doing my chores, I had to go to the Metro Centre (a big out of town shopping centre), never my favourite place to visit.

However the weather was sunny and I thought I would enjoy watching the wildlife along the route. While the bus was trundling along a red kite came into sight. Not that unusual and as my regular reader will know any day that I see the them makes it “A Red Kite Day”. Much better than a red letter day. What made this sighting worthy of comment is the bird was flying on a parallel course to the bus. It stayed that way for nearly two minutes and it came within fifteen yards of the omnibus too. It was one of those moments when I wished I had carried a camera. Great to see though, and had the bus not had to pull up to a stop the sighting would have lasted longer.

There were three main reasons why I wanted and needed to go to the shopping centre, the first was that I needed some more video tapes for the IR camera. While I have some on order via mail order, when I did my observations of the Deer recently I used what I had. So I had to get some more. While I have plenty for the other camera, this one uses a different format. Therefore I had to spend over five pounds each on three more. Also I wanted to check on the times of some of the buses as I am planing on doing some wandering. You will need to keep reading here as if I can get the access I have something special I want to go and see and film. I also wanted to get some of the regional bus tickets that will allow me to get out and explore some of the great places there are in the North East of England.

The last thing that I needed to obtain was a new colander, that's a straining device for food. I though I had better add that as I know that I have gotten myself into difficulties with my American readers who have different meanings for words that us Brits take for granted. My old colander that I have had for over twenty five years started to split. My Exs, both thought that I was a skin flint for not replacing it years ago, but it worked well and why get rid of something that is working well.

While I was looking at the kitchen utensils, I also looked at the kitchen knives. As my British reader will know in the news there has been a lot of debate about knives and knife crime. While I don't want to see people carrying knives as a weapon or potential weapon, there are times when a knife is no more than a tool. I love cooking and I do have a couple of decent kitchen knives. However the paring knife I have is a cheep one and the handle is becoming loose. So I wanted to replace this for a good quality one. I did find a Sabatier one, not cheap but it will last my lifetime. However what made this purchase worthy of comment was just how little attention the shop paid to the need to need to carry this home in a safe and non public manner. I had to ask for something to wrap the knife in. The woman even acknowledged that she hadn't thought about that when I asked how I was supposed to carry it home.

Also while on this topic, there are times when I do have the need to carry a knife. I am sensible and do not carry it openly in public spaces, but some conservation work does require using bladed tools like a knife. There have been calls in the press for knives to be banned and the carrying of them to result in a mandatory prison sentence. I can see nothing but problems, as people who have a legitimate reason for carrying a knife, a fisherman is one that springs to mind, could end up being sent to prison for going about their lawful business. The problem is the people who are carrying a knife as a weapon Further, apparently there are some young people who think that there are safe places where you can stab someone in a fight... All nonsense and it seems to me that the real difficulty is one of education.

Coming back home, I found myself on a crowded bus. The service to the village, while it could be better, more frequent, it is not that bad. While during the day the buses are not full, they are well used. It is when I find myself travelling at peek times that the importance of these services become highlighted. Because of the number of people on the bus I nearly missed seeing a couple of Badgers that were traversing around the fields of one of the farms close to the village.

As it was only six in the evening I wanted to discover what was going on. As it is the school summer holidays it did cross my mind that it was possible that the kids had disturbed the Badgers, as it is not usual for badgers to be out at this time. While I know that some kids can be a bit of a nuisance at times, the vast majority are just thoughtless rather than bad I did not think that this was likely to be the reason why the badgers were roaming at this time of day.

Therefore, I did not even stop for a cup of tea, I was gasping, and grabbed my camera and went out to see if I could find out what was occurring. While I could have waited for the bus again, I also knew that I was just as likely to get there as fast on foot.

As I got near to the satellite sett where the badgers were likely to have come from, I encountered one of the know poachers. He has a Lurcher and Terrier, classic poaching dogs. I said hello and he seemed quite nonchalant and friendly. So I was bold, and asked him if he had seen anything that could have disturbed the Badgers. He was quite open about the fact that he is a poacher but he would not do anything to harm the badgers. But he had not seen anything that could have disturbed them.

I went off felling reassured to see if I could find the tracks of the Badgers and to see if I could find any disturbance. There was non except for some fresh digging by the badgers. I could see two sets of tracks one from a sow the other from a Brock. I followed them and they did lead to the farmers field and there was indications that they were feeding and gathering bedding. As I don't have permission to go onto that farm, I could only watch from the boundary.

This was at least an hour after having first spotted them from the bus, but the badgers were still there. Further I worked out what had disturbed them, it was hormones. While I could not see clearly, I could see they were mating. I tried to track their movements but in the long grass I lost sight of them but I was able to follow the paw prints back to the sett. I am not sure but I think the male is new to the area he looks quite young but the female is about two years old and they appear to have set up a little love nest. I will have to keep my eyes open and see if I can work out what is going on. But seeing Badgers active in daylight is very rare indeed, seeing Badgers mating is almost unknown.

Bats and Beetles

As anyone who has tried to photograph or film anything in flight can tell you the hardest part is getting and holding focus. Tonight. I discovered that for myself again. I was sitting having a cup of tea following my dinner this evening, while I had the television on, the programme was drivel. So I looked out of the window, it was past dusk and I saw something fly past the street light. While it had been to fast to tell what it was, I guessed that either a bird or a bat was feeding on the insects and moths that buzz around the lights. So tea forgotten I was straight out with the camera. This was going to be a good test of the IR video. Indeed it was a nocturnes bat, and I could see it taking moths, or at least the moth that I could see disappeared as the bat flew past. So I set the camera rolling and tried to film the bat. I got two chances but both times I missed it.

As bats are corpuscular, feeding at dawn and dusk, I will try again but I will expect to have many long waits though.

Although today I was pleased as I went out with the aim of filming butterflies and or insects and I got some great footage of Cardinal Beetles mating. I also got some other nice bits of film too. Watch this space. Interestingly, while I was out I met a chap who gave me some useful information regarding the Deer in the woods. As there has been some thinning work going on this has changed the movements of the Deer, and what I was told matched with my own observations of Deer tacks along one of the tracks. But more importantly he also told me that Badgers have started to be sighted at a particular spot near the village. While not surprising, I had often wondered why they were not seen there before. As we were talking a buzzard flew over. I just wasn't fast enough, as the camera takes a minute to switch on and from our vantage point the trees quickly obscured the bird.

Part of the reason I had gone out was to look at a specific location were I am hoping to film the Deer. So the additional information was quite timely, and I did see fresh tracks. However, where the trees have been thinned it now leaves me with less cover to film them. I am sure that I will find the right spot though, and if I do get them on film you will get to see it here.

While the impact of the thinning has been noticeable, the overall effect will be beneficial to the larger mammals. And while the ruts left my the heavy machinery has damaged some of the places where the rare orchids flower, this year there are less of them, as the ruts have filled with water they are providing some interesting micro habitats. I suspect that next year we will have more frogs, toads and newts breading here.

It was very hot and even in the shade of the wood I was dripping with sweat, and I was sure that I must have been releasing lots of odour to alert the wildlife. Therefore as I was busy filming a rather interesting fungi I was surprised to see a vixen and two cubs. I was quickly trying to get the camera set up but before I could a shout from a child made them run off. That unfortunately is one of the problems with the long summer school holidays.

Weather and Badgers

I don't know what's happened to the Summer? I placed my order last year and I am still waiting for the Royal Mail to deliver it.

But seriously, for the next two days I am expecting heavy rain. Down in the South West of England, there are six flood alerts. The rain that has already started is expected to greatly increase the risk of flooding and there are flood alerts in my region too.

I had been hoping to go out to watch the badgers tonight, but there are only so many soakings any mouse can take.

Before I go on ranting about the weather, there are developments on the Badger front. I now have permission again to access the main sett that I have been watching. The problem as my regular reader will know, was that other people were going on to the land and causing damage. However, that was only part of the story, as there was a pair of Red Kites nesting very close. I could not disclose this as, there was a serious risk of disturbance. Unfortunately there are some people who do not find these birds as magical as most people do. I wanted to film them but I don't have a licence to do that yet, but next year who knows. Anyway, the happy news is one chick fledged.

Also as my regular reader may know, or did I send that reader to sleep? I have been trying to write a book on the Badgers. I had two potential publishers that were interested. One pulled out due to the Credit Crunch, the other one has also decided not to proceed. They were only really interested in the book, the project had the government gone ahead with a cull of Badgers. They wanted a book that was full of conflict. As people in the UK will know the government has rejected a cull of Badgers to control TB. At least they have followed the science. But while it has curtailed the book for the moment, I will continue observing the badgers. However, I will reduce my observations so I can do other things too. So watch out I will inflict it all on you folks.

Anyway, back to the weather. One thing that I have done is bought some ex army extreme weather gloves. I have bought them during the summer as they were a quarter of the price they were in the winter. That will ensure that this winter I should remain more comfortable than I was during the last. If it was not for the enjoyment I get from seeing the wildlife, I would think I was mad. My psychiatrist may even agree with me.

However there is a serious point that I want to make about the weather. On the news I am getting sick of hearing that this weather is nothing to do with Climate change. These type of events are all in line with the events forecast in the climate models. Its almost as if everyone is trying to ignore the real effects of dangerous Climate change we are all seeing.

One good thing that this weather will do for me though is, I will have the time to continue with cataloguing the video that I have been filming. I have only just reached the film I shot in May, and at least once I get on top of all this I will be able to find the stuff properly. I think I just need someone to keep me in order.

New Badgers on an Old Sett

Late on Saturday I got a call and was invited to do some wildlife watching the following day. As the weekend was very wet, as per the forecast I was not sure about this. But I did agree and at a quarter to four on the Sunday morning I was picked up.

As my regular reader will know, I helped with a site survey on some private land that contains a remnant of ancient wood. This lead to me being asked to help with relocating some rabbits where I saw Golden Eagles. That only happened because the wife of one of the land owners had just given birth. Therefore, in spite of the poor weather and my lack of sleep, I had agreed to go. While I too my cameras with me there was little prospect of my filming as while I can and do protect them in the rain it was very heavy rain we were having.

Anyway I explain all that as my expectations were not that high. As had happened on my previous time there, they had set up a tent that we could use as a hide. When we got there the mother and child where there already. While I didn't say anything, I did think that having a baby there was reducing an already small chance of seeing wildlife. And as can happen even when I am enjoying myself, I did think that I really should be in bed. As the tent was cramped I set up my Tripod outside but kept the cameras in the tent. If the rain stopped then I perhaps could use them. In the low light levels the slow shutter speed means that trying to use them without support was a waste of time.

Talking in whispers we had a long stacarto conversation about some of the ideas I had brought forth when I had looked at the site previously. One of them being the removal of lots of galvanised netting that had been placed around the perimeter of sections f the wood to prevent deer grazing a number of years before. This had been done and they had seen more fallow deer in the wood since. That had only taken ten days or so to create that effect. So was it the deer they had brought me to see?

Then the baby started crying, I really thought that would be the end of any hope of seeing anything. Fortunately as I was laying at the entrance to this tent, mother was able to sit at the back and feed baby G. As I lay there I could hear the noisy suckling noises and this nearly obscured the sounds of an approaching animal. Even I could not believe what I was seeing, a badger, a young Brock.

In their Forest was the remains of an ancient badger sett that had not been occupied for at least twenty years. The sett had been raided by Badger diggers in 1987, and the last badger was seen a year latter. One of the works that had recommended was where the chicken wire could not be removed, holes should be cut into it so that other mammals could gain access. I had even found a spot where it looked as though foxes were worrying at the fence. Anyway, within days of them creating holes in the fencing for the wildlife, they noticed that one of the old badger holes was being re dug. So the wife not following a conventional sleeping pattern anyway, had had the tent erected here so that she could bring the baby and feed her while seeing what was going on. There are two other young sows and an older female with cubs that have moved in too, but I only saw the Brock. At the time when I suggested the fencing removal, I had said that eventually the set would be used again. I was thinking two or three years, but this was amazing. Then in the distance we saw two fallow deer with a calf. That was all to brief as they caught the whiff of human sent as someone in the tent needed her nappy changing.

For me what is remarkable about these people is that they are quite clearly from the upper echelons of society, they do have a rather posh accent. Therefore it does seem strange them being as hands on as they are. But for them it is about ensuring they keep this bit of land and countryside healthy for their children.

That brings me to an aspect that I spoke about in a previous posting. As with all land in Britain there is an interaction between man and the landscape. This wood is no exemption, in fact the previous owner of the land, a farmer, so valued the land and the people who share it, that when he sold it he placed a covenant on it to keep it safe. He also went further and split the wood so that when the farm land was sold, no one person or company had complete control of the land. However one of the buyers, even though he had agreed to this had wanted to develop this wood for commercial reasons. As I suspected the fencing had originally been put there so that pheasants could be raised there. But the economics of shooting ensured that was not viable. Then he wanted to build on the land, but that meant acquiring the rest of the wood. Had it not been for me legal friend and his wife buying the farmhouse, stables and land, the developer could have succeeded then.

Anyway, a group of local residents got together to keep the wood safe, but their efforts were being undermined at each turn. Until it emerged that one of the group was apparently helping landowner who wanted to develop the site. This was all rather puzzling, until it was discovered that the man who had been a hand on the farm and is now retired, was struggling financially. Thus the developer had offered to buy his cottage and rent it back to him for helping him. So the layer and his wife have made the same offer to the old boy, and that has resolved that problem.

While I am uncomfortable with one man having that much control, at least for the moment this has all helped keep the little wood safe. Further, because of the fact that the site has four rare and endangered species on it, they are now able to move forward to get some form of legal protection for the site too.

I hope that I will be able to return there soon to share the beauty of this hidden gem.

Eaten Alive by Midges

One of the reasons that I have no friends is, I very rarely get bitten by midges. When I am out with other people, it always seems that they are the eaten alive while I normally come out unscathed.

Well on Monday, after having been out in someone else's wood, I wanted to see what the Badgers were doing. While I am still waiting on the re granting of permission to access the main sett I have been watching, there are still other smaller setts I can watch. I was on my way to one of these when I saw a chap from the village, he was walking his dog, and he asked me where I was off to, I told him that I was going to see if I could observe the Badgers. He asked if he could come too.

I persuaded him not to try and bring the dog, and I waited for him at a crossroads n the track. As I waited I got a couple of bites. When he came back I took him to a point where I knew we stood a good chance of seeing the Badgers as it was close to a favoured feeding spot. Its very damp and there are a lot of earthworms as well as midges. I even scattered a few peanuts around to ensure they would stop in a place that made observation easier.

While we settled down I told him that he had to remain quiet. I know from experience that he can talk the hind legs off a donkey. After about twenty five minutes, he was getting restless. He kept on shifting about, but even so about ten minutes latter I heard the badgers coming. When I saw them, I reached across touched his arm and pointed. It was still light enough to see them clearly. In a voice far to loud he exclaimed “Badger”

He repeated it adding an expletive, that was untrue as the badger was feeding and not sexually active. The Sow, with her two cubs looked and scampered. I was more amused than anything else, as he was excited but embarrassed that he had scared them off. I told him that it was likely that they or others could return. So we waited for another hour or so. While we waited I was getting eaten alive, therefore I was worried about my companion. While the light had faded significantly, we were rewarded by three sows and five or six cubs, with all the rough and tumble they play it is some times difficult to get a tally on them.

Then after three minutes my companion stands up and says well I have seen them now, I am going to the pub. As you can imagine the badgers fled at this sudden movement. I asked if it was because of the midges? But he told me that he never gets bitten.

I waited another hour but when there was no further sign of the Badgers, I decided I would head back home too. I had suffered that night from the midge bites.

Then last night I wanted to check on the Badgers. While I love that other people are interested in seeing them, experience keeps on showing me that some people don't always have the best interest of the wildlife at heart. I did find the paw prints of dog down in the badger feeding ground. As this location is not near a path, its clear that I made a mistake showing my fellow villager the location. It may be some time before the Badgers return as the scent of dog will deter them.

This was confirmed as I waited a long while to see if the badgers showed up. When the rain started, I stayed for a good half hour, the rain can deaden the smell of dog a little, but it was clear there would be no show, so I wended my weary way home and to bed.

No Luck and Good Luck

It has been hard to believe that we have just had the Summer solstice. Not just from the weather, but as hard as I look, I cant find where the year has gone. There was so much that I wanted to do, related to the seasons, but I have not had the time. I always knew that I would not be able to do all on my wish list, therefore I have been concentrating upon what I can do. That includes my observations of the Badgers.

As it was the solstice I thought I would have the best chance of filming the badgers. So I went out on Saturday night Sunday morning to watch them. While I still don't have access to the main sett I have been watching, there are others I can observe. While the wet weather does make it uncomfortable, the rain can help deaden noise and can make it easier to remain undetected. However, this night I saw absolutely nothing. Normally, I would see something, be it a mouse or vole, the odd rabbit but not a creature stirred. It is probably just that they had better sense than to venture out.

Not deterred, most would say foolishly, I did the same last night. This time I did at least get to see, very briefly, six of the Badgers as they moved towards a known feeding ground. While I did think of moving to that area, I decided to stay as it was likely that they would return that way. But they did not.

So I returned home feeling tired but philosophical. I had to go in to Consett for some shopping and to the bank so I could not retire to bed. Therefore, I was able to snatch some film of one of the Red kites as it glided over my home as I went to bring in the milk. I kept the camera with me when I went to catch the bus. So often when I have been at the stop, I have seen the kites from there. So I thought I would take it more in hope than expectation.

There was no sign of the kite but there was a female blackbird, busy pulling worms from the ground. While a little shaky I filmed her. Then while standing there I was busy watching a small white butterfly that came to rest on the grass. I was just powering up the camera when a swift came down and snatched it from the air. So quick was it that I was not sure what I had seen, but as I could see the swift departing with the white wings visible in the beak, I was left in awe of the swifts agility.

While I tried to get round my chores efficiently, I was confronted by a queue in the butchers. That meant that I would have to wait an hour for the next bus. As I came out of the shop, I bumped into a couple from the village who I had not seen for a while. So we had a little chin wag. Then I decided that as I had to wait I would go for a cup of tea.

One of the things that is rather surprising is that in Consett there are some quite good Cafés. Not sophisticated dining, but much better than the greasy spoon one could expect. I have been slowly discovering these, and went to one that I have not been to before. As my accent is not a north east one, frequently this will cause me to stand out. Therefore, sitting at my table I heard one of the two children, in a stage whisper, make a comment. The mother apologised and we fell into conversation. It was just general chit chat, then the youngest child spotted my red kite badge. I have an enamelled badge that the RSPB issues to help raise money, and the mother said that her daughter was nuts about the red kites. So getting out my camera I showed them the film I had just shot of the Kite. It also ran onto the film of the Blackbird.

Well, without relating the whole of the conversation, it turns out that she works for the local education authority and asked if I would be willing to give some talks to schools about wildlife and natural history. Well I could have been knocked over with a feather. I cautiously said I would, but I would need to know how doing something like this could be educationally significant and add to help the children learn. It was her turn to be ready to be knocked over with a feather, as she realised I was on the same wave length as her and I could be what she has been looking for for ages.

It was left with us exchanging phone numbers and email addresses, and that we needed to arrange a meeting to discuss what is needed. Anyway I get home to a ringing telephone, its the husband of my driver from a previous posting. (its not my fault if your not keeping up) She had just delivered a baby girl. They had thought from the scan that it was a boy, so they now have to start thinking of a girls name. They had been thinking of giving this child the same name as I have, but as I told them calling any child “Mouse” was not fair.

However, the main reason for the phone call was that they wanted further help with some small mammal trapping. But this will not be locally but two hundred miles away. While I am interested I cant do everything and I have left it open.

I just wonder if in six months time I will still be wondering where all the time fled?

Behaving like a Child acting as Adult

Now I know that I sometimes, for the sake of the wildlife, get myself into some silly situations. Just such an incident occurred a few weeks ago when I climbed into a tree to ensure that my sent was above the wildlife I was trying to see. When I got up there was enough light to see what I was doing. I stayed there until well after dark, and while I did get to see the Deer, they were to far away to film. Trees in the way, to much vegetation, but my field craft had been accurate in predicting the general location. So once I knew the deer were clear of the area, I decided to climb down.

This was not as easy as it sounds. I lowered my camera, and as I tried to get down myself, my gaiters (used to stop the midges feeding on me) got caught up. So I tried to get back up, not so easy in the dark, and I ended up with my left foot on the ground but my right foot rather elevated. Well lets put it this way I suffered a groin injury.

In the past I had to have a hernia operation, and while at times is has caused some discomfort all had been fine. However, I though I may have undone that by my antics. Therefore yesterday I went to see my GP. I explained what I had done, and his first question was and how old are you?
Well I do childish things, but its my excitement at seeing wildlife that brings out the juvenile in me. At least I don't need to have another operation but isn't it always the way as soon as the warranty runs out that's when things go wrong, and mine expired when I reached middle age.
So today I went to see someone who I had met in one of the local pubs some time ago. One of the aspects of anything to do with wildlife is just how enthused people get regarding natural history. It my just be the Red Kites, or that people love seeing the birds in their gardens but the British love their wildlife.

Anyway, this couple that I fell into conversation with told me that just as the pub we were in, they to ran a community library. And that most of the books had been donated. However, they had a significant number that were natural history titles that no one seemed to want to borrow, so did I want them. Now while books on natural history interest me, there are some that are not really that good. But I did agree that I would take a look at them. That's what I did today.
Well I was expecting there to be a few but there were nearly a thousand books there. By no means were they all Natural History books, but every topic under the sun. They were thinking of selling off these books at fifty pence each. So I suggested that they check what they were actually worth first. So using the internet we went through them, and many were worth far more than fifty pence.

Therefore I hoping I offered the suggestion that they sold them on line. This would provide greater income and enable them to buy more of the books they knew people wanted to read and borrow. I was enlisted to take pictures of them and together we worked out a fair price for them. It was clear that they had been good well looked after books.

Then came the box of the Natural History titles. These had not come from some mere dabbler, many of these books were incredible reference works. What shocked me was they were saying I could have them. I refused pointing out how valuable they were. This caused them some confusion as they had already had a book dealer look at them and he had offered twenty five pounds ($40) to take them off their hands. I picked out three and showed that they were mint first editions and was able to show that these three alone were selling on the internet for just under one thousand pounds.

Going through the rest there was a combined value of well over a thousand pounds. All in all they could raise about Four thousand pounds for their community library. While they had realised that some of the books could have been worth something, no one had been able to help them. In fact it seemed that all the help they had had previously was from people trying to help themselves.

I did not come away empty handed though, as one of the books was a mimeograph (a shorter cheaper students edition) of the New Naturalist Badger a book that I have long looked for but, out of range of my pocket. And I paid twenty pounds for it.

I also have my eye on another book but I will have to save up my pennies for that one.
Now I can see how I am doing it all wrong and misunderstanding what I am seeing. Anyway to celebrate getting this book, here's a picture of one of my sows taken six weeks ago.

Birds Fledging and Foxes in the Yard

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had see the newly fledged chicks of Tree Sparrows in the yard. I could tell they were newly fledged as they had tufts on their heads and you could just see the last of the gape. So being enterprising I set up the video, sprinkled a spot of ground with Black Sunflower seeds, and set the camera to record. For three hours.

I did not review the tapes until today, as last night I went on my rounds of the Badger Setts, but to hear about that you will need to read on. From three hours of filming I got less then two minutes of footage. So that was an interesting three hours for me. I did not get the chicks but I got both the adults, and they had a good feast, refuelling ready for a second brood. I am quite pleased with the film and the last bit I repeated in slow motion as the male flying off looked so elegant.

While I was reviewing the footage I spotted a pair of starlings. Only to be joined by five more. While they do flock together, at this time of year that can only mean a family of newly fledged birds. I know that just out back of me in a neighbours roof space starlings are nesting, so I went out and watched as the last of six fledged. My neighbours are now convinced that I am a total odd ball, as I set up the camera to film any more over the six coming out, and stood there for three hours, but without seeing any more emerge. I have to say that it my antics did draw comment and its the first time that I have been handed a mug of Tea while standing on the street corner watching wildlife.

As I said I was out in the night checking on the badgers, I know that there are several with cubs, and I wanted to discover who the parents were. But while I saw the sows with the cubs, I was not able to say for sure who was the mother of which cub. The badgers here are rather exceptional as younger unmated females seem to play a greater role in the care of the cubs that is normal.

Anyway I always type up my notes straight away so that I get everything down while fresh in my memory. While doing this I heard a cat, looking out into the yard, I saw one of the local cats in there. It was hissing at something, so carefully removing my cat from my lap, and yes it is difficult to type while stroking a cat, I went down stairs. When I opened the back door I was greeted by the sight of a fox cub. It could not have been more than ten or twelve weeks old. I dashed to grab the Camera, but it was gone when I got back there. It must have rushed off, as did the cat when I appeared. Did I save it from the Cat? I don't know, but I can be sure that the vixen is close by somewhere. So I guess I will be out looking for her now too.

Bird Taxonomy

There is true story that I was told years ago of a woman who after living all her life in London and only ever seeing pigeons, moved to a house with a garden and started noticing birds for the fist time. When her son visited he would reel off all these elaborate names for the birds, to the delight of his mother. She became so interested that she bought a field guide to birds. To her amusement she discovered that her son had just been making the names up and most of the birds she had seen were the common species found in the garden.

I know that story was true as it was the woman herself who told me. It however sparked a real interest in birds and wildlife.

I mention this as an American friend made a comment about my posting about the Great Tit; saying that it looked like a Black Capped Chickadee. I think that she is revealing something I have long suspected, that the pilgrim father's took over our British birds and just renamed them. I think that there are Americans, even as I speak, painting the wings of our native Blackbird and passing them off as Red Winged Blackbirds.

I bet that most of the exotic sounding species of birds over there are really ours, just renamed. Only kidding! But I do wonder if there are species in the Americas that are evolved from old world birds? While I know that many were named because they reminded the early colonists of European birds, but are unrelated, there will be some that share a common ancestor with old world species.

Anyway, I have had one bit of disappointing news today. The farmer on whose land sits one of the Badger setts that I watch has suspended permission for access. This is because over the Bank Holiday someone started a camp fire near the sett and cut down a couple of trees. Not only that the location was strewn with broken bottles and cans. While I helped with the clean up, he want to prevent anyone going there at all so that he can protect the Badgers and prevent any more damage occurring. I can understand him taking this action, and while it may seem unfair on me, he will stand a better chance of catching who is doing this if no one has any access. Once he can say “Get off my Land” to them, I should be able to gain access again, but I will miss the Badgers.

On a much more positive note though, something I saw on Springwatch last night solved a mystery for me. Back in the first winter in the village and exploring the woods, I had spotted an extraordinary looking mass on the trunk of a tree. I had been watching a tree creeper, but it disappeared from my view. As I scanned the trees for it I saw this strange looking mass on a tree trunk. I fought my way through the Brambles to try and get closer, and the sound of my approach disturbed the tree creeper and I saw a couple of them fly off. But I could not find the strange mass that I thought I had seen. Anyway, on TV they showed something that looked identical to this. Mystery solved, as the mass was a family of newly fledged tree creepers huddled together. This apparently they will do in winter too to keep warm. So what I probably saw was a huddle of adult Tree Creepers keeping warm. Well I learn something new each day!

The film is a clip of a Nuthatch feeding off a bird table.

Badgers By Moonlight

By the silver sheen of a moon waxing to full I went out to see if I could film the Badgers. My video doesn't have infra red ability but it is supposed to be able to film in very low light conditions. However the image quality suffers, but as an experiment I thought I would give it a try.

I headed to a location where I knew the badgers regularly investigate as a feeding spot, its muddy and good for worms. I started off by scattering the ground with Peanuts and set up the camera to overlook the spot, much of it bathed in moonlight.

I retreated about forty or fifty yards once the camera was rolling and waited. Each tape will only produce an hours worth of footage, and as the first hour neared ending I got up in readiness to change the tape. As I stood, I smelt the scent of the badgers. Normally I would hear them first but tonight it was the smell that alerted me first. I could see no sign but as I strained my hearing I could hear them. I stayed still until I could see them and after fifteen or so minutes, and after the tape will have ended, seven of the badgers came into view. It was fascinating to watch them eating the peanuts as the tactic for getting the most seemed to be stand over a pile and eat backwards.

When I was able to return to the camera, the Badgers had up ended the tripod and camera, into the mud, before going to feed. It took a while to clean this and review the footage, had they been sooner I think it would have worked. However plan B will require me to use bondage on the camera.

Badger Cubs

We have Badger Cubs!

I tried to think of some way of adding some tension or trying to write something so that you, dear reader, didn't share my discovery until the end of this posting, but I am just to excited by this. For at least the past month, I have suspected they were there in two of the Setts that I am observing, but without direct sightings I could not be sure.

Because of an urgent request from one of the potential publishers of the book on the Badgers that these observations will be going into. I had to ensure my observations were up to date. Therefore, I went round to the setts and tried to ascertain what was actually happening rather than speculate. One of the advantages of living in the north is the longer daylight period. This enabled me to more rapidly travel on foot between the different Setts. Even so it is still a two hour walk to get round all of them and I still need time to see what's happening. It is not just a matter of there's a badger and another, but via watching work out what is really happening in their lives.

While at one of the setts I saw two cubs above ground with their mother well away from the Sett. They were busy grubbing for worms and engaging in the rough and tumble of badger play. I even became involved, involuntarily, as one of the cubs discovered pulling my boot lace was a great game.

However the sow decided she didn't like her cubs being near a human and she charged me. As I was travelling light, no camera or heavy equipment just a digital Dictaphone to make notes on, I was able make a swift exit. Once I was several meters away, everything was fine and they all went back to feeding and playing. I quietly departed from that Sett and headed for the largest sett.

The dynamics of this one has become fascinating as the old Brock was killed by traffic in February, and there are now three males competing for the top job. However, the realignment of the social dynamic has caused two of the pregnant sows to move away to an as yet unknown satellite sett.

I could hear that the badgers were active as I approached, and I wished that I had some night vision equipment, as it was difficult to work out what was actually going on. While there was feeding activity going on, and some rough and tumble, I was confused by the number of animals that were there.

I allowed my eyes extra time to adjust to the light, and settled down to see if I could discover the story of the behaviour pattern. It looks as if one of the younger males, he is about four or five years old, has become the lead Brock. Once I was more sure of the dynamics of the situation I moved in closer and settled down at the base of a tree. Whenever out watching the badgers, it is never just the badgers that I will encounter, and a vole was scampering about just feet away from where I was sitting and I could hear owls were out hunting. This held my attention, was I going to see the owl hunting? I was close enough to the mouse or vole and if I could see it, I knew that an owl would spot it too. As I sat there, my attention was split between watching the badgers and the rodent. After, about fifteen minutes, I felt something fall on my shoulder and to the forest floor. Looking up I saw a Tawny Owl ten feet directly over me, I guessed that it had been a pellet that had been dropped but I could not find it in the leaf litter. I could have used a torch, but that would have disturbed the Badgers. As I watched the Owl it flew silently off into the dark.

My attention back on the Badgers, I tried to work out who was whom. One of the females I saw was one that had departed when the old Brock was killed. I could see two cubs but they were with another sow. Looking carefully, I realised that there were other cubs there too. After a time, I was able to see with certainty that there were six cubs there, four seemed to be with the wanderer. I think there were also others there but without direct observation of them I can not be sure.

While I wanted to post immediately about this, I also needed to get my manuscript updated as I had a meeting to attend.

Even though I was tired I my draft notes written and effectively wrote another chapter in one. As the publisher wanted both a hard copy and a digital version, I had to print it out. Armed with this I went to Newcastle for the meeting.

For reasons that will become obvious, we always meet in a café. I was there first, and I waited with a coffee. As winter is over, I have shaved off my beard. In the winter this stops me from loosing to much body heat in the cold. So I was rather amused when she walked right past me and sat down at the back of the room. I went over and said that it would be easier to talk if we sat at the same table.

She asked me to sit with her, it was clear that she was upset. Well without going into detail, she has become a victim of the credit crunch. Her business was reliant upon borrowing made upon her house and while she had been hoping that the banks would be kind to her, that morning she had discovered the banks just wanted their money back. So via this publisher at least the Badger book will not be published. I even had to pay for her coffee and lunch as she didn't have the money to pay for that. In fact even when I had been meeting her in her offices previously, they (the Office) had been borrowed and she was really trying to create the illusion of a successful business.

While I was sympathetic, I didn't give her the manuscript as she wanted. She said that she was sure she could sell it and that it would help save her business. I already have another publisher that is interested and I could not completely trust her to provide a deal that was right for me. After all, if she was trying to use my work to save her business it was likely that I would be sold short.

I will still complete the book and my observations, so I see this as a set back not a disaster.
This meeting had been inconvenient as I had other things I needed to do. Also, staying up all night and extending that into the day left me feeling very tired. Its no wonder that my neighbours think that I must be some creature of the night. If I am not careful I will be getting an invite from Bram Stocker.

No matter what disappointments though, it doesn't detract from the delight of seeing the Badger Cubs.

Unexpected Badger Encounters

Yesterday I spoke briefly about seeing a Badger that's heavily pregnant. Normally it would be nearly impossible to see or even get near a sow that is pregnant. However, the weather played its part, as because of the heavy rain one of the tunnels in one of the smaller setts, one that I have been guessing is predominantly used as a nursery sett, became flooded. Previously I had noticed that some saturated bedding had been dragged out. Therefore I started watching to see if the wet weather was adversely impacting upon these mammals.

I could see that there were rivulets that were running into one of the tunnels, this was one that had obviously been abandoned many years before. What I was seeing now explains why they abandoned this entrance. Yet because you cant see how extensive the network of tunnels are, this abandoned entrance must be connected with the current bedding chamber.

It is the extensive nature of a Badger sett that can make it difficult and frustrating to observe Badgers. It does help keep the Badgers safe, while there are no natural predators in the UK now, in the past they would have been on the menu for Wolfs and Lynx, this complexity of the sett remains. It does however enable a wildlife watcher the opportunity for that unexpected encounter.

So while I was checking out what was happening, after seeing the saturated bedding, I was near one of the other entrances to this sett. Unexpectedly I heard the sound of a Badger in the tunnel. I was in the wrong place, to exposed and the wind was blowing my scent towards the sett. Laying down in the mud, I am sure that my mother or my ex would have been horrified by my childish behaviour, and waited to see if the Badger would emerge. Badgers always sniff the air before and as they emerge, thus I was expecting her to race back in. My scent was obviously in the air and she could smell me. While I don't think that she could see me, her head kept on turning towards me. While she was hesitate, she finally emerged and it was clear that she was wet. Wetter than the outside of the tunnel, further because her thick fur was plastered to her body, I could see clearly that she is heavily pregnant. Normally she would be steadfastly deep in her nursery chamber as she will be giving birth in the next week or so.

One of the reasons why I had been watching this particular set is because I knew that the female inhabiting this one was likely to have been pregnant and that I would have a chance to see cubs latter in the year. However, while I was able to track her part of the way, she gave me the slip. I have ideas of where she went, but no certainty of where she moved to. Therefore, I may not see the cubs when they first emerge.

Well that's all part of the magic of watching wildlife, you just don't know what you will see. Now where did I put the washing powder?

Selenium A New Hope

Hope is what the New Year brings. This is not just an emotional feeling but as the New Year starts just a couple of weeks after the solstice, the longest night, we can all look forward to what this New Year will bring.

I know that for some people today they will just be looking forward to that hangover going. Fortunately that’s not something I am suffering from; in fact it was the eve of Bah Humbug day when alcohol last passed my lips. Part of reason for this has been my need to keep a clear head. Locally there has been, in the past, problems with Badger Baiting, therefore I have been helping others who are protecting and guarding the Badgers. Fortunately, unlike previous years, there were no incidents of this illegal activity. Therefore I can look forward to a whole year of occasional badger watching.

However, as well as seeing the Badgers, I also saw some other human activity that would not have been out of place on the Discovery channel.

I am also looking forward to what the government decides regarding a Badger Cull. To explain to those that don’t know, in the UK we have a serious problem with bovine tuberculoses and for years farmers have been blaming badgers for spreading the disease. The government will be deciding if they will authorise a cull in late January or February.

While it is true that Badgers do catch bovine tuberculoses and they can spread it, they are not the cause of the problem. This was proved when farmers restocked following the major outbreak of Foot and Mouth. Areas that had previously been free of bovine tuberculoses suddenly suffered outbreaks, even though the new stock was supposedly coming from sources that were free of bovine tuberculoses.

While I understand the need to control this disease, a disease that can infect humans via milk, killing off badgers is not the answer. The rational for the cull are based upon assumptions and not the facts. Further, the reasons for farmers wanting this cull are an economic one. It will not eradicate the disease. As the bovine tuberculoses is within the cattle, killing off the badgers in any one of the disease hotspots will only create the illusion of removing the disease.

Because of fact that in the cattle there will still be a reservoir of the disease, all that will happen will be a reduction in the rate of spread. Paradoxically it will increase the area where the disease is prevalent. This is because when the badgers are cleared from these areas, badgers from other setts and territories will come and start exploring these new territories. These Badgers will then pick up the bovine tuberculoses from the cows and take it back to their sett. This will infect the other Badgers and as they go out foraging they will infect other herds thus spreading the tuberculoses further.

As I said this cull is an economic one, as DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) spends over twenty percent of its budget, four hundred million pounds, on bovine tuberculoses. Yet the measures taken thus far have done nothing to stop its spread, and since 2001 it has increased. Yet DEFRA has failed to take other action to help stop the spread of the problem like insisting that infected cattle are properly quarantined and housed in shelter where badgers cant get in.

The numbers of badgers that will be culled is staggering, as around each of the disease hotspots the government are talking about clearing an area of twenty-five square miles. That will mean that millions of Badgers would be killed. Also what is more disturbing is that the farmers will be allowed to do the culling with no supervision or any Government money. While most farmers will not want to see the badgers suffer, there will be a few that will use illegal snares and other methods that will impact other wildlife.

While this is all something for the near future, I hope that the government doesn’t go down this road, it may win them votes with some farmers, I suspect that it will loose them more votes when the public see their badgers disappear from the countryside.

As this posting is about hope, there is one Farmer in East Anglia, one of the disease hotspots that may have stumbled upon the solution to bovine tuberculoses. As farmers have been increasingly feeding Corn (maize) to cattle they discovered that it suppressed the immune system of the cattle. The solution was to add selenium to the diet in the form of a salt lick. This farmer discovered that his cows when fed the selenium became free of TB. So he placed these salt licks all over his farm. Then he discovered that the badgers were taking the salt as well, this lead to him discovering that his neighbours were suddenly free from TB.

The hypothesis, not proof, is that if Badgers were provided with selenium salt they can then fight off the bovine tuberculoses. While the observations may not be direct cause and effect there is real science behind the hypothesis as when salt licks were first introduced to farming in the 1930s a whole range of health problems in farm animals were eradicated overnight. It could be that the Badgers are catching this non-natural disease simply because they lack the minerals to fight off the infection. As it is such a cheap option it should be trailed at least to see if it works. As well as helping to prevent a mass slaughter, it could be the first step towards finally controlling bovine tuberculoses once and for all.

Books and Badgers

I have made no secret of my love for books here, they can provide some wonderful entertainment as well as information, and for me personally there have been books that have inspired me too. I may have mentioned before, hey the mouse repeats, there was one book, A Forest By Night by Fred Speakman, that inspired me to go badger watching when I was a child. Especially as the badgers he watched and recorded were in the same forest that was my stamping ground as a child.

Because of my own current watching activity, and my recent acquiring of a copy via the Internet, I have been rereading many of my books on badgers. I would love to get my paws on a copy of the New Naturalist Badger but as these books have become collectors items, I cant afford to buy a copy as copies of it are changing hands for three hundred pounds plus. That makes it frustrating for people like me who want to use the information rather than just own it as an investment. I do have many volumes from the New Naturalist series but I have them as tools for conservation.

Also, these books on wildlife have enabled me to understand what I should be looking for when I am out looking for wildlife, the type of habitat, the times that a species is active etc. However, sometimes what I see and experience is different from what the books would lead me to have expected. What happened last night is a perfect example of unexpected behaviour from my badgers.

I have previously spoken of the way that one sow, female badger, has musked me. That’s where she scent marks me with urine, it maybe what did for my previous boots.

With the freezing weather, watching the badgers has become a difficult and uncomfortable activity. While I normally position myself up a tree to watch the badgers, there is a hollow at the base of one tree that I have started to use as well. This is a warmer location but provides me with less visibility. I have had nights where I have only heard the badgers but not seen them clearly. The other night I knew there was a badger or two some ten feet or so from me, but in the dark shadows I could not be sure of what I was seeing, moving shadows, my eyes playing tricks on me, or were the badgers really sniffing at my feet.

Last night, while I was well wrapped up, I could see frost forming on my coat, as well as my legs. It has been so cold that I have taken a flask with me just to ensure that I don’t place myself at risk of incurring hypothermia. So last night I decided that I would have a hot drink and risk not seeing the badgers return, I had already seen them leave. I could hear them, but in the distance. So I was surprised when after I poured out some soup, I heard one of the badgers start to come closer. Its something that may surprise many people just how noisy the badgers are. Anyway, I think it was the smell they came to investigate.

I had the experience of having two young badgers, this years cubs, playing around me even occasionally running and jumping over my legs. That went on for a good forty minutes, then they both went off again.

My thoughts of going home returned and I poured another small cup of soup. I didn’t think it could get better and as I got ready to get up and move one of the young badgers returned. She was less boisterous and snuffled my boots and legs. I dropped a handful of peanuts for her and she made short work of them. Then she climbed onto my outstretched legs and settled down and went to sleep.

I couldn’t believe what was happening, her warmth was welcome but her weight did make my legs go numb. I think she stayed there for about half an hour, and only moved when she and I heard other badgers coming back to the sett.

What a remarkable experience, I had read of this type of interaction going on before with other experienced badger watchers, but I was sceptical, I never expected to experience anything like that myself.

When I finally stood up, it was clear where I had been sitting was clear as I had left a frost free patch on the ground. I will be stopping my nocturnal vigil for a while, but
I will be back watching my badgers again in the New Year.

Bullfinch

The other morning after spending another night under the stars watching the badgers, I decided that I would go to a particular spot where I stood a good chance of seeing the Roe Deer. As I was already cold, a bone numbing cold, I knew that while I waited and watched I would have some shelter from the wind. Unfortunately the Deer failed to make an appearance, I suspect that as I was shivering so much that I was failing to be as quiet as I thought I was. Therefore, I failed again to get the pictures I was hoping for.

Because I was so cold I decided to head for one of the bird hides, where at least I would be out of the wind that was draining the warmth from my body. It worked wonders for me, as although tired, I was delighted to see the flocks of birds, particularly the Bullfinches that were using this feeding station.

My initial pictures were a little blurred as I was still shivering a bit, but as I warmed up I was able to keep the camera still to get some cracking shots.

This stop on my sojourn home was welcome as I was able to regain some of my body heat, and I had some good memories to take home with me. When I finally got to bed, I slept for a full twelve hours straight. While watching any wildlife nocturnally has its problems, one of my problems has been solved by the gift I was given of a pen that has a red LED light in it so that I can see to take notes without disturbing the badgers and foxes.

It’s rather funny but several people have asked me why study an animal like the Badger, don’t we already know about them? Well as I will be showing in a latter posting, no we don’t and it’s only from real observations can we really learn.

An Old Friend Comes Back

As this Mouse had a meeting cancelled yesterday I found myself with unexpected time on my hands. I was fortunate as all this week the weather has been wet or very overcast, but yesterday it was sunny. Therefore I decided to make good use of this bonus.

However, before I tell you about that, I must say that I have been extremely busy working on a possible new project, watch this space for details to come. But it was in relation to this new project that I was supposed to be meeting with other people, but due to events outside of all our control, they had to cancel. It was so last minute that I had already left to travel in to Newcastle. Fortunately, I had missed the earlier bus that I had planed to catch and while waiting for the next one, I got a call on my mobile. As I had been trying to get into town early, had it not been for modern telecommunications I would not have known until I arrived for the meeting.

That left me feeling more than a little disappointed as I had spent a lot of time preparing for this business meeting. However, it is just one of those things that happens in life.

All this meant that I had unexpected time, so I decided to use it productively, and went back out, after changing, to go and watch some wildlife. As my regular reader knows, I have been puzzling over some unexpected animal behaviour among the badgers. At one of the Setts that I am watching, I have seen the badgers tramping over the tracks of the Roe Deer. So I went down to that area partly so I could see what else is about, as normally I am there in the dark. There were a significant number of small birds about feeding on the remains of the peanuts that I am using to feed the badgers. Therefore, I had the delightful vision of small flocks of great, coal and blue tits feeding. I used the opportunity to carefully examine the deer track.

Settling down I watched the birds and I was pleasantly surprised to see an old friend come along, the Fox that I filmed previously.

By watching the birds I realised what the badgers have been doing. The deer use a track that’s a quagmire most of the time. Because the ground is soft and muddy it’s a good area for worms, which is evidenced by the number of molehills I see. But what’s happening is that the worms are coming out after the Deer pass because of the droppings. The badgers are going down for the worms and in doing so are obliterating the signs of the deer.

It was all quite logical in the end, but it did look as though the badgers were deliberately masking the Deer’s passage.

Learning Lessons from the Badgers

Meanwhile back to the environment. As my regular reader will know I have been spending a lot of time out watching some of my local badgers. Concentrating upon two of the sett’s, I hope to learn more about their behaviour and habits first hand. This has entailed me keeping the frost company while the wind stabs at me robbing me of body heat. While I do take care to keep warm, as I have to remain fairly still, I don’t have the benefit of movement and exercise to maintain body temperature. Therefore, when heavy rain was forecast, I decided to suspend my observations. It was unlikely the badgers would be that active, and the chance of obtaining any meaningful observations would be diminished.

Therefore, today was the first time I had been out for the past two days. I decided to go and look at the entire seven sett’s that I know of in the local area. The wet conditions makes spotting activity easier and my assumptions that the badgers would not be that active in the rain was only partially correct. As with all animals hunger will drive the badgers out looking for food. Further, as a badgers diet is mainly worms, the wet conditions make it easier to find the worms they rely upon. So that’s a lesson that I have learnt and one I should have known.

However, I have learnt something new about badgers already. I had noticed that the badgers were collecting up a lot of bracken for bedding. At this time of year it could be assumed that they are preparing for winter. But I noticed this happening in the summer as well. It seems that the badgers are collecting it when its dry and storing it so that will have a supply of dry bedding even when the conditions are wet. With this hypostatise I was able to find at each of the seven sett’s what appears to be a dry bedding store. Therefore it does appear that the badgers are able to plan ahead and it doesn’t seem to be just one or two clever badgers that are doing this but all of the family groups.

While the overcast and dark conditions made it difficult for photography, I did get some pictures to illustrate the amount of water that has fallen. Further the river is filling up and still rising. There is no risk of floods, but it must make it difficult for the wildlife that uses the river. It was getting towards dusk when I got to the end of my circuit but I did spot where a dipper is choosing to roost. I did try and take a couple of pictures but there wasn’t enough light, but I hope to return, so watch this space.

Night Life

Last night was the first night for over two weeks, which I have not been out keeping station on the Badgers. It was only because of the poor weather conditions that I decided to keep to my bed, as my nocturnal activities had enabled a chest cold to persist.

While it has been remarkable to watch the season change from autumn to winter, even more remarkable has been my ability to witness the animals as they prepare for winter. Often at night it is really the sounds that tell you the story of what is occurring, however the frequently heard owls seemed to have been everywhere. I had to do some serious reading to work out if what I was seeing was unique. But I realised that it is in fact just that the young hatched this year are finding their own feet, or should that be talons, and trying to establish territories. The fact that they are doing it in their parents’ territories is why they are suddenly so frequently seen. So while this observation is nothing new to science, it has increased my understanding of the natural world. Further, I have been privileged to be using the same branch as my viewing platform as a young tawny owl has been utilising as a hunting perch.

This observation also helped me to decode some of the other faint sounds I was hearing. What I had initially thought was the gentle rustle of leaf in the breeze turned out to be small mammals, mice, vole even shrews.

Then there have been the sounds and shadows of the foxes lightly imprinting their path across the frosted leaves. While a fox can be silent, the cries they emanate can make the blood run cold. I understand that when the mating season for foxes happens, the police get an increase in the number of calls informing them that some thinks a woman is being attacked in the bushes somewhere. Quite a chilling sound and it is no wonder that myths grew up around woods.

Before even talking about the badgers, the other remarkable experience is the deer. With my perch in a tree, I am above the roe deer as the pass below me. They know my sent and know that I have passed, but fortunately they don’t look up. If they did they would see me as this small group of seven hinds walk, amble and skip just feet below me. I may take a picture of this, but I know the flash will startle them and I don’t want to disturb the natural behaviour that I am seeing. Nor frighten them into taking another route. Partly this is because in the badgers I am seeing some remarkable behaviour.

After the deer have passed, quite close to the sett, the badgers seem to then go grubbing for worms along the track the deer took. This has the effect of obliterating almost all the signs that the deer were there. But what has been even more curious is that on the couple of nights that I haven’t seen the deer the badgers don’t forage for worms there. Further, when the deer were late passing, the badgers seemed to wait until they had passed and seemed to move from an equally rich feeding area to feed on the deer track. While I suspect that there is something else going on, it appears as if the badgers are aiding the deer by hiding their passing. Quite curious.