First Badger Watch of Spring

There's been a lot of activity down at the badger sett in recent weeks, with fresh spoil heaps appearing outside many of the entrances. I'm rather hoping there are cubs below ground, but it will be a few more weeks before they appear. I put the camera trap out last week, to see when the adults were emerging. The first badger was out at around 7:30, so at the weekend I got down there in good time, put out some peanuts and set up my ladder.

The early badger catches the worm

Sure enough, just after 7:30 the first badger emerged. It wandered towards me, stopped and stared at me for a moment, then continued to the peanuts apparently unconcerned. It ate for a good 20 minutes (they're very slow peanut eaters), before wandering across the wood and onto the road. I'd assumed it would cross over into the fields on the other side, but instead it trotted down the road and went back into the wood at the far end of the sett.

As the light faded, two roe deer came across the fields, jumped the fence effortlessly and wandered through the wood. Once it was completely dark, more badgers emerged. Two came to the peanuts and another went straight off to the field. I heard chittering noises from behind me - not badger cubs but fox cubs playing. They must have a den somewhere in the woods, but I haven't found it yet.

First badger watch of the year

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