30 Nights Wild, night 1

I arrived at the sett in good time and put out some peanuts and a dish of honey for the badgers. A little food brings them out into the open, but I'm careful not to give them so much they become dependent on it. I climbed up to my seat three metres off the ground and settled down for what can be a long wait. A cuckoo was calling and a barn owl flew across the wood in front of me and out into the field.

A view of the sett
Before long I heard a rustling in the undergrowth behind me and was surprised to see a badger and cub returning to the sett. They often head down that way when they first emerge and return ten minutes later. I haven't found it yet, but I suspect the latrine is down there! The mother badger halted, caught my scent and retreated, with the cub following behind her.


It was another half hour before two adult badgers and a cub emerged from the entrance in front of me and cautiously approached the food. By then it was getting dark and I'd switched the camera to infrared. The rooks were coming into the wood to roost, making their usual racket. The cub had a few peanuts before lapping up the honey, while the adults mainly stuck with the peanuts. They eventually returned to the sett entrance, then the adult male disappeared into the brambles and the mother and cub wandered off across the wood on my left. It was time for me to leave too.


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