Thursday 3/9/09 - Forgot the camera!

Tonight was a real rush (in the running around like a headless chicken sense). I didn't get in from work til well gone eight, got changed and back out again to see the badgers. In the rush I forgot to take a camera with me, so no new pics tonight. I could have given it a miss, but I won't be watching on Friday so didn't want to miss two nights on the trot.

Anyway, rushed off to the Barn Owl Centre, very quick hellos and stock up with nuts. Off into the darkness and as I'm approaching the hide, a badger on the path. Unfortunately, with the wind on my back the badger is soon peering at me in the gloom I'm sure having smelt me in the first place. I stop, but the badger isn't having any of it and disappears into the dry ditch to the right of the path. On to the hide, food out and into the hide.

I have only been in the hide for a few minutes when a badger appears from the same path I just walked down. As usual, he follows the trail of nuts to where the bulk of the food is and begins feeding in earnest.This one is soon joined by another badger and they settle into a relaxed feast of nuts and dog meat. You may remember that when I first introduced the dog food, one badger in particular literally spat the meat out and ran away! I haven't seen that behaviour since and the badgers really seem to relish the little bit of dog food I put out (about a quarter of a can). They will pick it up in their mouths and lift their heads up off the ground, unusual with these badgers who are constantly sniffing, or eating off the ground. They really seem to enjoy this little treat so I'll keep it up. Soon the badgers are sniffing around in the long grass at the bottom of the hide wall. This close you can see how powerful these animals can be as they force their noses and mouths into the long grass to find the peanuts. They thrust forward in short, sharp movements and you just know they are stocky, powerful animals. Soon, the food is all gone and the mad sniffing around phase begins. I whistle and throw a few peanuts out through the door and soon one of the badgers finds them and tucks in. I repeat this feeding pattern two or three times and the badgers seem to respond to the sound of the nuts hitting the floor. The whistle, as ever, doesn't bother them, but I'm hoping they will come to associate it with food. Eventually I let them wander off having had their fill and deciding not to feed any more so I can get out, go home and go to bed!

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