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.

International Dawn Chorus Day

Today, 4th May, was International Dawn Chorus Day. I decided to mark the day by heading out to listen to the dawn chorus. While I was tempted to try and record it, as I had other matters on my mind, see previous posting, I just wanted to absorb myself in the experience.

I headed off to a track in my local woods where I know that many species of birds sing in the morning. Even though it was before four in the morning, and before sunrise, there was still enough light to see reasonably well. I spotted a barn owl out hunting almost the moment I got to the edge of the forest. I spent the next hour watching this pair of Barn Owls as they were hunting on some marshy ground. The ghost like forms were a delight to watch. As one flew silently from one side of this open ground to the other and landed in it perch, so the other would fly back. Initially I thought it was one bird, but I soon realised it was a pair. The behaviour was rather unusual so I stayed to observe. Eventually, one of the birds, I think it was the male but as they kept crossing the field I lost track of which was whom, caught a vole or a mouse and upon regaining its perch next to the female gave her the food. When she ate it, they both flew off in the same direction. I tried to track and follow, but I lost clear sight of them.

I did find a pair close to where I know a pair do nest, but I don't know if they are the same pair, but based upon the direction the pair I had been watching flew off in it is a reasonable hypothesis. Yet being honest I cant say for sure.

I was by this point quite deep in the woods and as the sun was now begging to rise, I walked home slowly and shared my joy with the birds who were singing for me. I never saw anyone else in the forest, even though I was traversing the most frequented areas of the wood, so there was no one to share my joy but the birds who were singing their hearts out for me.

Breathing Places

The Wildlife Trusts

Getting a Mud Bath

Following my rather spontaneous trip out yesterday, I considered cancelling my planed trip out to watch one of the trails. There is a location in my local area where I regularly see wildlife tracks, however it is also crossed with regular human traffic.

Therefore, I needed to ascertain when the human traffic stopped and when the animal traffic started. That required me to venture out in the night yet again. Because my plans were adjusted during the day, after getting back and feeding and watering myself, I was tempted to stay in the warm. But, I also knew that because the weather was less than clement, there was less risk of getting disturbed by people.

Now while I don't have a problem with others sharing the countryside, the number of times that the presence of other people does impact the behaviour of the wildlife. Also, as I want to at a latter date set up a camera trap, I needed to discover a time block when I can leave the equipment set up without the risk of this expensive piece of kit disappearing.

Now dear reader, you understand why I was wandering about in the dark, in the forest, in the cold, you also need to understand that with the recent rain and snow, the ground was very muddy and slippery under foot.

In the summer, no matter how much repellent I use I become the picnic for a variety of insects, but as it is early spring I was not expecting to suffer that problem. I do love being in the woods after dark. While it is cold and damp, sitting or standing comfortably often you can hear much of what is happening in the Forest.

In the wood the wildlife gets on with there lives far from us humans and at night is when most of the activities go on. So settling down I set about discovering what was active. Listening just to the sounds of the forest does not always tell you exactly what's there, but the scampering of small mammals was evident. I also heard the sounds of Owls out hunting. I could not positively identify what species, but I heard the sound of one taking a vole or a mouse. As I peered into gloom, I think I could see the bird fly off, but with no clear view I could not say what it was. I also saw and heard a fox go by.

As I sat I could hear the deer were active too, but I could not see them. After I thought they had passed I decided I would have a drink from my flask. I don't know if it was some sound that I made, or the aroma of the coffee but some fifteen feet from behind me came a burst of sound as four or five Roe Deer burst into activity as they made to flee from my presence. This caused me to drop my flask in the mud. It took me about half an hour to gather my gear back together. I ended up looking like I was doing an impression of a hippopotamus by the time I was finished.
It is not the first time that I have been startled by wildlife, I doubt that it will be the last. I am just glad that I do not have a wife or partner to go back to, or else I would be sleeping in a kennel.

However, my primary objective was fulfilled and I know that it will be possible to set up the camera trap. There was no human disturbance and this will mean I can avoid doing my impressions of icicles or mud loving animals.

Sounds of Nature

Yesterday I finally got my hands on my new toy. I am planing on creating a podcast, and I really want to record some of the sounds of the wildlife that I hear. As my regular reader will know, after getting the recording equipment I ventured out but the results were a little disappointing. What I needed I finally got yesterday, a parabolic microphone.

I had to order this as they are not available off the shelf, at least not in the UK, or at least locally. So I have been waiting for this. Its by no meaning of the term the best available, but it was what I could afford. However, when I went to collect it the cable that I also needed, to connect to the recorder, was out of stock. Therefore I was pleased and disappointed.

However armed with the device I could use it to listen to wildlife sounds even if I couldn't record them, so I experimented. What was a real revelation was just how much the sounds sounds of the birds jump out. As the dish of the parabola focus the sounds, it enables me to see by sound birds and animals that are hidden from view. At the very least I can see myself using it to search for birds, as using this, enabled me to see birds that I may not have spotted otherwise.

Although it was testing it out at night that really amazed me. When I am out I do try to be light of foot and keep my ears open. Yet using this as an aid was magical. I found that I was able to track a fox for over a mile, she was probably thinking I shake this hippy off soon. I had to give up as I was close to getting lost. Well actually I was lost...

Also I heard an owl and was quickly able to locate the bird, something I would not have been able to do without hearing the soft noises of movement.

But it was today after getting the interconector needed that really had me having some fun. I went out with no specific location in mind but with the aim of trying to record the birds and anything else that may have been around. While I have recorded some of the birds singing, I will need to create a windsock for the microphone, I am thinking of trying a pair of tights, no I will not be asking any female friends, it will be embarrassing enough buying a pair!

One amazing thing that happened was I heard a rustling, a movement in the trees. I looked carefully and saw a couple of Roe Deer, so well camouflaged that I doubt that I would have seen them otherwise. While I did set the recorder while watching them but not a noise or movement did they make. It was to dark to take pictures, but I will go back to the location and see if this is a regular sleeping point for them.

I love my new toy, I just hope that I can capture and share some of what I hear with you folks.

The picture is one that I took in the wood today.

Harry Potters Cloak of Invisibility

Poisoning windows (see comment on previous posting, woops a Freudian slip, it by my psychopathic thoughts on computer software showing) is not the only wildlife watching I have been doing. Previously I spoke about the fact that in the UK we now have Eagle Owls breeding here. When I did, I was informed that here on Tyneside there was one that had settled in. However, no matter how hard I pleaded I could not discover exactly where.

Eventually via my contacts, I discovered where the bird was. So this morning I went off in search for this fine bird. I scoured the streets, back lanes and asked strangers if they had seen the bird. While I did get some strange looks from some, I did find others who had seen the Owl. But no matter how hard I scoured the area not a sign did I find. Sometimes that is the way with wildlife watching, even if you are in the right location unless you have contacted the animals’ agent, they just don’t turn up.

While I never saw the owl I thought at least I would have another day to try. Sitting down with a cup of tea, I watch the local news, and on there is a story about the very bird that I had been looking for. It turned out that the Eagle Owl was an escaped bird and not a wild one, and this weekend just gone. The animal handler that supplied the owls for the first Harry Potter film had recaptured the Owl, no wonder I couldn’t find it someone had thrown a cloak of invisibility over the owl.

So while I had missed out on seeing and photographing this bird, I was heartened to discover that a local woman had been feeding the owl and that it had been well looked after.

One of the things I discovered when I got back home was the adaptor that I had bought over the Internet for a battery charger. I had to buy it from the US and the postmark was from Acadia in Maine the location of one of the National Parks over the pond. Somewhere I would love to visit…

The reason why this charger was so important is that I need it to recharge the batteries for a digital audio recorder. While I had a mains adaptor and could use it in the house, or I could use alkaline batteries, I have long refused to use disposable batteries. So I needed to have the ability to charge the unique batteries for the recorder.

I have often thought that what most people don’t always realise is just how vocal wildlife can be. While we all know that birds sing, but badgers are quite noisy too, sometimes it’s just huffing and puffing, but also there are snickering and calls that most people are just not aware of. Therefore I some months ago sought out some advice. In my past I specialised in taking pictures for theatre groups and performers, it explains why I am poor now! So making contact I tried to discover what I would need and if I could afford to do this.

Not only was I assured that I could do this without having to sell my grandmother, good job as I don’t have any left to sell, but my initial idea was expanded upon. Everyone I was talking to was saying I should do a podcast. I think that what they are saying is that I have a good face for radio. Anyway, this is what I am planning and getting the digital recorder is all part of this. Further, I am looking to build a web site, so that I can help direct people to the information they need to live a greener life. But also I would like to expand on some of the conservation and wildlife issues, as while many people that are interested in wildlife they can actually do a lot in their own garden or back yard.

However this is all apparitional at the moment as I have discovered something that I had already suspected, that my computer is to old and not powerful enough to run the software I need to run to do this. So I am now looking to buy a second hand computer before I can progress much further. As I always envisaged this not happening until spring or early summer, that delay is not beyond the scope of my plans.

All I can say is I hope that when I do start doing my pods, I don’t have to many days like today when I find the wildlife hidden by that cloak of invisibility.

Protecting the Vulnerable

Back in the spring, I don’t know if you can remember that far back, I had the rare opportunity to see a pair of Hen Harriers as they tried to establish a nest in one of the felled areas in my local wood. I was surprised to see them and knowing how rare they are, I contacted the RSPB. Unfortunately in no time at all the birds abandoned the nest and site because of disturbance.

However, less than a week later I received a telephone call telling me that the pair I had seen trying to nest were nesting again. Further, I was asked if I wanted to help protect and guard the nest. Under strict rules of secrecy that would make the government jealous (Especially HMRC), I started aiding the effort that was staged to safeguard the nesting pair. Even before posting this I had to get permission to say anything.

Eventually the Hen Harriers raised five chicks and made the experience of being in the cold and wet of summer worthwhile. However, this is all just background to what happened today. During my stint as slave to the birds, I met a chap who does more than watch the birds, he often takes in injured or sick birds of pray. Further as he helps police and animal charities with gathering evidence of wildlife crimes, I can’t say too much about him other than he is an amazing man.

Anyway, while on my guard duty, we talked about the problems of protecting wildlife and he acknowledged he was sad that because of the attitudes of many in our society, we couldn’t disclose the locations of rare nests etc, because of the few that are determined to destroy beauty. It was encouraging to hear him, as I am always worried about talking about the wildlife I encounter in case some of the oafs who would harm it read my postings too. But he assured me that the more that the lovers of diverse fellow inhabitants of this planet know of what’s out there and why we need to protect them, the less opportunities the brainless ones will have to destroy habitats and individuals.

Well yesterday I got a telephone call from him, did I want to do something really special? I jumped at the chance. So up and out before even the milkman arrives, I was taken to a secret location with two Tawny owls that had been nursed back to fitness. They had been injured by either a shotgun or an air rifle, and had not been able to fly.

So I got the chance to handle a wild owl and with a mixture of delight and regret, I saw this owl fly off and disappear into the trees.

A news Article on the Rare Chicks

Tawny Owl

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.

At the Birth of a New Day

While a lot of people that I talk to say that they would love to see wildlife, most of them are not willing to make the effort, or have the patients to wait and watch. I do understand that people have busy lives, but the rewards garnered from just sitting quietly can be so rewarding. That is perhaps why so many people see my watching of wildlife as being so eccentric. I have been told to my face that I am weird, yet equally complete strangers will tell me of their encounters with the natural world.

Often the greatest obstacles to getting people to share the experience is getting them up and out of bed early, and then getting them to keep quiet. In the past I have taken people to see wildlife, but as is often the case, you may not see what you hope to see. However, there will always be something that you will see, even if it’s a frequently seen bird, just sitting waiting and watching can be rewarding.

Where I can agree that I am different is that I am prepared to wait out in the cold and often damp conditions during the night. With the waxing moon, or the full moon, there is surprisingly a lot of light to see by. Obviously this depends upon cloud cover, as the clouds can and frequently do cut off this illumination. But having cloudless skies does mean that the nights are colder. However, whatever the conditions, watching wildlife in the dark is never easy. It’s often your other senses that tell you what’s there.

Watching Badgers will frequently lead you to encounters with foxes, but it is often owls that are your most frequent companions in the night. Only the other night while sitting up a tree over looking one of the entrances to a particular Badger sett, I had the indignity of having a tawny owl regurgitate its pellet down on to my head. Had it not fallen on to my lap I may not have realised exactly what it was. However, it’s normally their calls that alert me to their presence. Just as it is the sounds that tell me when the mice and voles are about.

One strange noise that I have been hearing I have now discerned what was causing it. I had been hearing sounds of something moving earth or digging, but it was not the badgers, as on more than one occasion it was so close that had it been a Badger, Fox or even a rabbit I would have seen it. I had already made a good working hypothesis that it was a mole, but I needed to be sure. Then last night I saw in a clearly in a pool of moonlight, a mole poking its head out of the ground. That solved that mystery but proved that no matter how much experience any of us has, there is more to learn and much more to delight us.

While the night is teaming with movement and sounds, it is when new day nears that the song of dawn really delights the ears. It’s normally the Robin that is the first to sing, followed by the ubiquitous blackbird and chaffinch, while the tits provide the backing vocals.

As the sun lifts it light the woodland stage of a new day. That’s what makes the eccentricity of spending my nights uncomfortably perched so worthwhile.

Two Unexpected Encounters

One of the delights of any form of wildlife watching is the unexpected encounter. Last night was a perfect example; this mouse had gone to one of the pubs in the village to see someone. Unfortunately he was not there, so I moved to another hostelry and had a couple of pints of the Irish stuff. Then because of work that the new owners are doing there, I offered the loan of some tools that could assist making the job easier. The offer accepted I went home to get them, while marching home I saw and heard an owl in a tree. I didn’t have time to stop but once I had given the tools to the people in the pub I headed off and took a look for this barn owl.

It was still there, and it was busy looking for food. I then spent the next two and a half hours following its movements around the village as it hunted the many greens in the village. It appeared to be hunting with its mate, but all my efforts to locate the other owl were unfruitful. It was one of those situations where I wished I had a camera with me. While I normally do, I had left it at home deliberately as I didn’t want to take it to the pub. I will not be making that mistake again.

Then today, I went off in search of the Roe Deer that have been seen in the woods. With several sightings by others, and my own sightings, I knew the territory they inhabit. Finding signs of them was very easy, not just footprints, but droppings and quite fresh ones too. As well as the less obvious signs like the tree that bares the marks of the buck deer rubbing the tree with its secretions.

While I did not see any of the deer, I did get the glimpse of something but I cannot be sure it was a deer and it could have been a fox, the signs of them were clear. However following their trail lead me off the beaten track into places where very few people venture. This caused me to encounter some Pleurotus ostreatus better known as Oyster Mushrooms. They are ready for picking and had I needed them for my meal tonight I would have picked a few. But I have my meal tonight already planned. Therefore I leave them and I know where they are the next time I want a few.