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Archive for August, 2010

Fieldnotes: 15th August 2010 – One late badger

Posted in Fieldnotes, tagged , on August 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Chinese Water Deer

Chinese Water Deer

I’ve bought a new car.  All that remains is to siphon out the diesel from the old one, Mad Max-style, and it can go to the big scrapheap in the sky.

I made a quick trip to the wood on Sunday.  I decided to visit the main sett and see if there was any sign of more badgers.  I’m becoming certain that there are a lot fewer badgers in residence this year and not having been here for a while I wanted to make sure they were OK.  The dry spell has ended – it seems like we’ve had torrential rain and thunderstorms every other day this week – so at least the foraging should be easier for them.

I arrived at the sett just before 8.00pm, only to find my path blocked by a Chinese Water Deer browsing through the undergrowth.  I like watching deer and they’re great fun to try to stalk in a wood.  This one presented a challenge though.  It was very close to the sett, so if I frightened it, it would probably frighten any badgers that were above ground.  This is how it works with wild creatures: any disturbance to one tends to create a reaction in others, which is why it is so important to move stealthily even when you’re some distance from the animals you want to watch.

Predictably, despite my cautious approach the deer eventually caught sight of me and bounded off.  Interestingly, it had a big split in one of its ears, which should make it possible to identify in the future.  I can only assume that this was caused by a fight with another Chinese Water Deer.  The males have long teeth.  I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet they fight each other over territory or females, despite their cute appearance.

I don’t know if the deer frightened off any badgers, but there weren’t any in sight.  I sat in my tree and watched for half an hour as the light gradually faded.  At 8.37 a badger emerged from the western end of the sett, showing that they’re back in residence at this end.  It wandered to and fro, foraging in the damp wood.  For a while it sat under my tree, directly underneath me (too dark for pictures, unfortunately).  It seemed healthy and happy, not bothered by any traces of my scent in the area.

After a while it ambled off into the gloom of the wood.  I gave it five minutes head start and left for home.  It was good to see the badger, but it was only one badger on its own.  There’s nothing so far to suggest that my idea that the badgers are much reduced is incorrect.

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Life without the internal combustion engine

Posted in Diary Post on August 9, 2010| 2 Comments »

I’ve spent the weekend without a car.

I’d love to be able to say that this was deliberate and part of a return to a more sustainable way of life (in the manner of John from Musings of Murphyfish).  Unfortunately it wasn’t.  It was because the engine of my (admittedly elderly) car blew up on Friday.  I was driving home from Birmingham on the motorway when the crankshaft failed, with the end result that the engine welded itself into a lump of metal with smoke coming out of it.

So it goes.  I spent the weekend looking for a new car.  Mrs BWM feels that it is time for me to get a motor that reflects my smart executive status.  She also insisted – quite rightly – that I get a car with a heater.  My last car didn’t have this luxury feature and it caused some hardship during the winter.  As for me, the only requirement I have for a car is that I can fit a bale of hay into the boot!

Now, part of my philosophy as a (very) amateur naturalist is that I study the wildlife within walking distance of my house.  In that respect, not having a car shouldn’t have held me back.  However, the search for the perfect heated/executive/agricultural vehicle kept me preoccupied for the weekend and so I’ve had no time to get outdoors.

I’ll do better in the future, I promise.

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Fieldnotes: 1st August 2010 – Another Wasps’ Nest

Posted in Fieldnotes on August 3, 2010| 1 Comment »

‘Their habitation is even one with your guarded threshold … Man rules now where They ruled once; They shall soon rule where man rules now. After summer is winter, and after winter summer. They wait patient and potent, for here shall They reign again.’

The Dunwich Horror, H.P. Lovecraft

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Another post about wasps’ nests and badgers, I’m afraid.  The badgers do seem to dig up these nests in dry weather, presumably as an alternative food source when worms are scarce.  At least, that’s what my limited records show (and those of Steve from Bedfordshire Wild). On the other hand, it may just be coincidence.  Decent-sized wasps’ nests only occur in summer.  Dry spells mostly occur in summer. Perhaps I’ll look back at the archives in years to come and find a definite connection.

A wasps nest dug out by badgers 3

Anyway, I mention this wasps’ nest mostly because of its location.  I spotted it when my wife and I were taking Scarlett to the park – it’s on the verge of the main road through the village.  I’ll admit it isn’t a huge road – it isn’t a huge village – and there is a nice mature hedgerow and pasture fields on both sides, but it was a surprise to see badger activity this close to the houses.  Anyone walking home late from the pub on Saturday night would have got a shock.

‘Their habitation is even one with your guarded threshold‘ indeed.  Very interesting.  I’ve had to re-draw my map of badger activity in the area because of this find.

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Fieldnotes: 1st August 2010 – One badger at the Beech Tree Sett

Posted in Fieldnotes on August 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Continuing in my efforts to understand the local badger population, I paid a visit to the Beech Tree sett this evening. It was a good reminder that successful badger watching involves more than just finding a sett and plonking yourself down and waiting for the badgers.

Packing my camouflage umbrella to keep off the steady drizzle I arrived shortly before 8.00pm.  The sett is on the side of a wide shallow dell, thick with bracken, but I found a nice spot with my back against an old coppiced hazel where I could look out over the sett.  I was quite a distance away, but I was here for observation and counting badger numbers rather than close-up photography.

About ten minutes after I arrived I heard a rustle in the undergrowth and a turned to see a badger trotting up the way I had come, disappearing into the bracken behind me.  This wasn’t how it was supposed to be – the badgers were supposed to come out of the sett!  These badgers are obviously not used to being watched: they don’t know the rules.

I stayed until 9.00pm, listening to a young tawny owl squeaking somewhere nearby, quite dry despite the rain under a double canopy of pine trees above and hazel below.  No more badgers appeared, so I assume they’d left early before I arrived.  Possibly they’re out early to get the most foraging time in the leaner dry weather.  As it stands, my count of badgers at this sett stands at just one.  I’ll need more visits to get a more accurate count, but it’s a pleasant spot to spend an evening so I expect I’ll be back soon.

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