I’ve been busy laying a new floor this weekend, but I took a couple of hours off this evening to see what the badgers were up to. In particular, I was keen to see if the cub (or maybe cubs) made another appearance.
A good breeze was blowing so I made for my usual tree. At 8.05pm the fox wandered past. It seems very regular in its habits, this fox.
By 8.25 it was getting dark and there were no badgers to be seen. At this time last week there were at least five of them out and about, but for some reason tonight they were having a lie-in. I don’t think it was my presence. I’d arrived carefully and early, so I don’t think they could be aware of me.
Just before 8.30 a badger came out of the western entrance, stopped, scratched a couple of times and then went back underground. I waited for a good while but it didn’t reappear.
I can take a hint. This was obviously not going to be a great night of badger watching, so I climbed down the tree and headed for home. Just as I touched the ground, however, the badger popped its head out of the sett again. I was standing in full view not 30 feet away. I was caught in the act!
But there were four things acting in my favour, and it was a good reminder how important they all are.
- Firstly, and most importantly, the wind was in the right direction. I was in exactly the right place to observe this sett, with the wind blowing from the badger to me. My scent was therefore carried away behind me and not towards the badger. Since smell is the most important sense for badgers I was effectively ‘off the radar’, so to speak.
- Secondly, I stayed absolutely still. Badgers do not have brilliant eyesight but they see movement pretty well. By immediately freezing I reduced the chances of being seen significantly.
- Thirdly, I was wearing dark, drab clothing (including my super high-tech camouflage jacket, wide-brimmed hat and camouflage gloves) so there was nothing to catch the badger’s attention. Covering up the face and hands is so important but often overlooked. Your hands in particular are very visible, especially as they are usually the part of you that moves the most as you lift up your binoculars or camera. Dark gloves are essential, even on warm summer evenings.
- Fourthly, I was standing with my back to the tree, so my silhouette was hidden. In my dark clothes I blended into the background instead of standing out against it.
Because of all these factors I was able to stand there in full view of the badger yet remain effectively invisible (although it did feel horribly exposed to be on the ground – I’m like a fish out of water when I’m out of my tree!)
After a minute of two the badger was joined by another, and they sat there scratching merrily. I crept away as slowly and as quietly as I could so as not to disturb them, and when I looked back they were still blissfully unaware of me. I had got away with it.
At times I do feel that I get a little obsessive about not disturbing the badgers, but I really do believe that it is these little details that mean the difference between success and failure when watching wildlife.
Tales from the Wood - The Diary of a Badger Watching Man 
My experience is telling me that you are being obsessive , these are your badgers – & seem a stable clan . even tho your stealthy , they will all have been able to smell minute details of your own intimite odours . most probably more than any other human – Do Not be afraid to tweak the odds , nuts ! badgers take quite readily to some people – this chap from Hereford Living in Lancashire has been much criticized for feeding badgers – I dont agree .
How hard would it be if like this weekends bait found at Newsome Huddersfield was 2 dozen many days old pigs trotters , complete with their own eco-system of flies etc .
A badgers instincts are too strong to ignore – they smell this slightly rancid feast & everything you think about spooking badgers becomes 100% NULL & VOID – humans associated by scent to a feast of pigs trotters will become a source of interest & they will be readily take to humans I assure you this is a point to ring some alarm bells – if you study badgers & an unusual source of badger food within the near vicinity say half a mile , further if its its hot , maybe even one or two miles – THEY WILL FIND IT !
it is also the hallmark of a proffessional badger baiting group . I cant express this clearly enough . The lengths we have to go to remind people to notice what they see around them , Fortunately due to this very comment maybe – anyone noticing an odd pile of pigs trotters in the countryside or even semi-urban parts of England Scotland Wales or Ireland should report the sighting to their nearest active badger group – I say active because almost half of the English Badger Groups are not working that is so run down as to not have accurate contact details available – not just the internet , but this is what its good for English Badger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m3c92PMB-g
Thanks for tweaking wyrdpress oops sorry wordpress to show me a new experience in commenting – the more doors you open the more open . of course wyrdpress is a much less corporate capanacity of sputnikifikation thereby easily transmissible electronically promptly via your favourite & relevant links
http://kirklees-badgers.co.uk/component/content/article/36-randy-boar.html