It's been raining most of the day today and it looks like it's going to continue into the evening. Vince mentioned last night that a roof was going onto the hide today, so that will be a relief. I'm meeting a friend, Karen, at the Barn Owl Centre tonight. She has been over to see the badgers a couple of months back and is keen to see them again. I arrive at the centre and Karen is already there. As there is a new roof on the hide, I don't take waterproofs with me and I've forgotten my wellies. We go on into the Centre and have a chat with Vince. "Hows the roof looking?". "Didn't happen" says Vince "it's been raining!". We could go back to the car for waterproofs, but they are noisy and it is quite dark. We decide to set off so we load up with some nuts and into the rain-filled dusk we go.
The chairs are all wet, as you'd expect, and after putting the food out, plus setting up one light, we sit down and the slightly uncomfortable wait begins. I've left the net up again. If I can get the badgers feeding confidently with other people here and the net up, the experience is that much better. We can hear a single Tawny Owl in the distance, but that is about all. Sometimes when it has been wet, the badgers do arrive later than usual and tonight is no exception. Twenty five minutes after we arrive, at 7.40, the first badger appears. Before the first badger is in the main feeding area just in front of the hide, a second appears from the main path and both are heading our way. As we have low cloud and therefore a reasonable amount of reflected light off the clouds, as the first badger moves closer he may have spotted us and trots off. Within a few minutes it is back, but I switch on my torch and leave it on the step as it helps to darken the area behind the torch. Before long the animals are feeding only a couple of feet away and I think the rain is stopping! I have already put some food onto the step. It would be good if Karen could see them feeding off the step as the view is great. You can see their claws to begin with as these are normally hidden in the grass. I whistle and throw some nuts out and the animals respond to the sound of the food hitting the floor. We witness a bit of argy bargy, but nothing too strenuous. With the animals now right outside the hide, one of them smells the nuts on the step and climbs up to eat them. That is pleasing as there are two of us sat in the doorway, only a couple of feet away, if that, and the badger is contentedly eating food right there in front of us. Once I have them feeding off the step, I try and put addtional nuts on the step to see if they will come back. With the badgers very close to the step I throw a few nuts out to distract them and whilst their heads are down I put some more nuts on the step. This works quite well and at times my hand is only a foot from the badgers. As an experiment whilst an animal is actually feeding off the step, I move my hand towards it. I can get quite close to it and as I've now picked up the torch and am holding it, my hand is illuminated in the torchbeam. The badger can see my hand, but continues eating and I do get my hand less than a foot from the badger. They don't seem to mind this intrusion, which is great.
Once I feel we have fed the two animals enough, I stop feeding them. They have had nuts and dog food, but I'm keen to expand on the available menu items, so if anyone has a good, cheap idea of food that badgers like, please leave a comment. It takes a while for the badgers to check around the feeding area and doorstep, which they revisit several times, and be happy they've left nothing edible behind. Once this is complete, they wander off in different directions, as normal. Now we can talk and Karen is pleased with how close the badgers came, which is a lot closer than the first time she visited. Things have moved on remarkably quickly really. I never thought back in July, when all this started, I would have wild badgers coming so close and being so tolerant of humans. We walk back up to the farm, seeing a badger on the path on the way back, but not getting too close. Once back at the farm we update Vince on what we've seen and it's then I realise I've left the camera in the hide. Due to the rain, not only had I not used it, but I'd put it under a chair to keep it dry. Back down to the hide via the wild flower meadow as Karen hadn't seen it in flower. Whilst walking along the back of the meadow, in the rain (again), we pick up some eye shine on the path ahead. We weren't close enough to identify the owner, but with green eye shine it could have been either fox or badger.
We get to the hide and I open the door and there, right in front of us is a mouse. I've seen him a couple of times and called it a wood mouse, but still not sure. He wanders around in the torch light seemingly unconcerned. He does disappear out of the front of the hide and round the corner as I go in to pick up the camera. Another nice thing to see down here at the hide.
For the second time, we arrive back at the farm and this time we stop for a coffee.It's not raining anymore and a Tawny Owl is calling nearby. We keep an eye out and he flies to the tree just behind the aviaries and continues calling. We also see him leave that tree and can see where he lands in another tree. This tree is also close to the aviaries and we wander over towards it. He lets us get reasonably close before flying off to one the bigger Oaks nearby. Again, a nice way to top off the evening.
Showing posts with label centre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label centre. Show all posts
Sunday 4/10/09 - Two's company, three is a crowd
I didn't manage to get over to the Barn Owl Centre this afternoon, but I went over to see the badgers this evening. I'm down at the hide by 7.25 and a badger is already there. I must try and get here earlier! I put the torch onto him and, for a few seconds, he sits and looks. He does turn and trot off into the hedge, though, so I get into the hide, put the nuts and dog food out and get into the hide. Tonight there is a very bright full moon shining out and illuminating everything. It looks really nice and I decide not to use a light tonight, view the badgers "au naturele" as it were. I leave the net up tonight again, although the moon is illuminating me rather. I have my hat on and the Buff I use over my face. As I settle down, I whistle a few times as though I'm feeding the badgers additional food. I repeat this three times, a minute, or so, apart. Just after the third whistle I hear the characteristic sniffing and chewing noises the badgers make. I look to the right of the hide and not one, but two badgers have arrived together. This is unusual and as I don't normally whistle like that, I wonder if they have arrived in response to my whistle? I appreciate they're not dogs and they will never act as such, but it's a nice thought to harbour for a few minutes.
A badger up close! ![]()
The moon has been behind a thin cloud for a few minutes during which time the badgers have moved to about four feet away. One of them picks up a lump of dogfood and holding his head high, trots off with it to the left of the hide. They do this fairly regularly and I think it's just them taking a lump of food away from the competition, although I have at times had them do this when only a single badger is present. Within thirty seconds, the animal is back and feeding alongside his colleague. The moon reappears from behind the cloud and illuminates everything, including me. If I turn around I can see my well defined shadow on the floor of the hide. The badgers don't notice. They just keep on sniffing and eating. I've already put some nuts on the doorstep and one of the badgers is sniffing around just outside and soon latches onto them. He tentatively lifts one foot onto the step, sees the nuts and tucks in. I've put four small piles of nuts along the step and he's working his way down the piles towards me. Eventually he's a few inches from my leg; too close to take a picture as it will be out of focus. Nuts finished, he drops back down and continues sniffing around. At this point I throw a few nuts out after whistling and both badgers move in and do a bit of shoving and pushing.
Unusually, three badgers tonight
I notice in the background some movement and a third badger has appeared from the main path and is moving quickly towards the other two animals. This is unusual as I've not had more than two badgers for some time now. I'm slightly confused as to whether the two I've had here already are my two regulars, or whether one of them is a stranger and the new one is a regular. What becomes immediately apparent is the new badger is quite agressive towards the other two with some powerful argy bargy taking place. I whistle and throw some more nuts out and all three respond. The newcomer, who is possibly slightly bigger than the other two tries to defend the nuts from the others and is being quite forceful about it. The other two back off slightly and allow him to feed. This is interesting as this does look like hierarchical behaviour which the two regulars don't necessarily stick too, seeming to be equal. I'm still not sure if the newcomer is a regular, but the next time I throw some nuts out, he sees the movement of my hand as I throw them and runs off. The first two are my regulars, they don't mind the movement when I throw more nuts. He only goes about four or five yards, but comes trotting back in to get some of the additional food. He barges into one of the animals, who barges back. Then, with a long growl, he grabs the badger by the neck. He continues growling and the other badger stops pushing. He is then released and gives up the space around the nuts. This is the first physical agression I've witnessed and although no damage was done, he certainly made his point. I decide not to feed any more and watch as the three badgers sniff around looking for anything that's been missed. They seem bigger in here...
The badger who had been grabbed a couple of minutes earlier is back at the doorstep and raises itself up onto the step. No nuts there. He then lowers his head over the step to the floor inside the hide and begins mopping up nuts which must have been knocked in as they were being eaten earlier. Initially he balances on the doorstep trying to reach down, but eventually, lowers first one front foot, then the other, into the hide. He started on the opposite side of the door to me, but is working towards me. When he's about a foot from my knees, I fidget slightly and he backs out, then trots off. If the badger knows I'm there, which I'm pretty sure he does, the trust he is showing is fantastic. The only predator of badgers in this country, certainly for the last two hundred years, or so, has been man. This badger is a foot away from me and unless I give him reason, he would come closer. This is where maybe I should trust the badger more? I don't know, but will say again what a privilege it is sharing space with these creatures. Are you looking at me?
All Pictures Copyright
Badger Facts
Badgers are very clean animals and will regularly change bedding in the sett. They also spend a lot of time grooming themselves and each other.
Saturday 3/10/09 - A trip down to the hide with Beth
I went over to feed the badgers last night, but was on my usual Friday night outing to see some friends. It's nice to mingle with some humans from time to time!
I've been thinking about the wonderful weather we've been having lately. Those nice warm, sunny days followed by the darker evenings, with that definite Autumnal chill in the air. This has been going on for a month, or so, now. No real rainfall around here to speak of. That must make things difficult for animals whose staple diet is earthworms. We have been getting some heavy dews, I guess, but are worms about on those chilly nights? I guess there is a lot of fruit about at this time of year and that contains a certain amount of water. There are also ponds nearby, so drinking isn't a problem, but what about food? The two regulars I get at the hide are looking in great condition and I don't think they are reliant of the food I put out. If I didn't feed them again for a month, I'm sure they'd be OK. That said, Beth and myself had just got down to the hide this evening and it absolutely threw it down with rain for about twenty minutes! As there is currently no roof on the hide, just the camo net, it doesn't offer much protection from the rain and we got rather wet. We stuck it out, though and were rewarded with a visit by two very wet looking badgers.
Boots and Badgers
![]()
One arrived at 7.50, really late compared to recent arrivals. He comes down the main path and is soon joined by another from the path to the left. We have left the net up tonight and Beth is sat in the middle of the doorway on a chair a couple or three feet into the hide. I am sat on my stool to the right of the door, but would be fairly obvious to anyone passing. The badgers move in close to the hide and finish the food I've already put out. I have put some nuts on the doorstep too. I begin feeding them additional nuts after a whistle and they move in really close. One of the badgers latches onto the nuts on the doorstep and climbs up to get at them. Beth is sat on the chair with her feet out in front of her. The badger gets quite close to her feet, but thinking she may scare them if she moves her feet, she leaves them there. In the next picture you can see her feet against the doorstep with the badger happily feeding closeby. In the picture, her feet look really big, and no, they're not my wellies! I think the perspective of the lens makes them look big.
![]()
I've been thinking about the wonderful weather we've been having lately. Those nice warm, sunny days followed by the darker evenings, with that definite Autumnal chill in the air. This has been going on for a month, or so, now. No real rainfall around here to speak of. That must make things difficult for animals whose staple diet is earthworms. We have been getting some heavy dews, I guess, but are worms about on those chilly nights? I guess there is a lot of fruit about at this time of year and that contains a certain amount of water. There are also ponds nearby, so drinking isn't a problem, but what about food? The two regulars I get at the hide are looking in great condition and I don't think they are reliant of the food I put out. If I didn't feed them again for a month, I'm sure they'd be OK. That said, Beth and myself had just got down to the hide this evening and it absolutely threw it down with rain for about twenty minutes! As there is currently no roof on the hide, just the camo net, it doesn't offer much protection from the rain and we got rather wet. We stuck it out, though and were rewarded with a visit by two very wet looking badgers.
Boots and Badgers
One arrived at 7.50, really late compared to recent arrivals. He comes down the main path and is soon joined by another from the path to the left. We have left the net up tonight and Beth is sat in the middle of the doorway on a chair a couple or three feet into the hide. I am sat on my stool to the right of the door, but would be fairly obvious to anyone passing. The badgers move in close to the hide and finish the food I've already put out. I have put some nuts on the doorstep too. I begin feeding them additional nuts after a whistle and they move in really close. One of the badgers latches onto the nuts on the doorstep and climbs up to get at them. Beth is sat on the chair with her feet out in front of her. The badger gets quite close to her feet, but thinking she may scare them if she moves her feet, she leaves them there. In the next picture you can see her feet against the doorstep with the badger happily feeding closeby. In the picture, her feet look really big, and no, they're not my wellies! I think the perspective of the lens makes them look big.Same number of badgers and feet, less nuts
I manage to throw some nuts to the two badgers and whilst their heads are down eating them, manage to put some more on the doorstep. They easily find them and with Beths feet still there, they climb back up and eat the newly placed food. I later found out that Beth had scrunched her toes up, just in case! I stop feeding and the badgers wander off in different directions, as usual. We pack up and head back up to the farm. On the way we come across a single badger out foraging, but he sees us coming and disappears into the hedge. Back at the farm we have a quick look around at the birds. It is fantastic that our native owls are so fantastic. The Long Eared Owl looks stunning, the Barn Owl is the essence of a British owl and the Tawny is another beautiful bird. To top off the collection, the Little Owl is unbelievably cute (although he does like pecking people, apparently). A lovely collection of owls, and that doesn't include the Eagle, Boobook, Great Horned, Grass and Snowy Owls that also live here.
Thursday 1/10/09 - A return trip for some visitors
I came over to feed the badgers last night, but didn't stay and watch them. I'm tending to take the odd Wednesday off at the moment due to things I should be doing elsewhere.
If you read this blog regularly, you will know that we had a family of four in to see the badgers and had a no show. I was really disappointed so we decided to offer them a return trip to try their luck again. I was a little nervous about this trip as five in the hide is a lot and I didn't want them to be disappointed again. It also turned out that the wind had swung round to a North Westerly today meaning the wind would be moving from the hide to the feeding area. To cap all that, a near full moon was due and it was a clear sky. The moon would be shining straight into the hide. Not that I was at all negative as the badgers had been showing so well recently.
When they arrived, I met them in reception and we had a bit of a chat. They were quite excited at having another go and with the dusk well and truly here we made a move down to the hide. On arrival at the hide at a quarter past seven, we sorted out seating for them and then I started putting the nuts and dog food out. I put more food further from the hide tonight so hopefully the badgers would be feeding confidently before moving closer to the hide. I put two small LED lights up illuminating the area where the majority of the food was and had my trusty LED handheld for illuminating anything outside of this area. We settled in, I put the net covering the door down and we began the wait. As a last act before the wait began, I put some nuts in two piles on the doorstep and told them we may be lucky. After a few minutes, we could hear a pair of Little Owls calling to each other. Shortly after that, with lots of screeching and other noise, a Little Owl flew into the tree opposite the hide and perched on the end of a dead branch so we could easily see it. A minute or two later, it flew off towards the farm. The Tawny Owls started just after this with at least two birds calling to each other. At least we had seen some wildlife, if not badgers.
A few more minutes went by and I spotted a badger to the right of the hide and indicated this to the others. By time I'd turned around to look again, it had gone. I waited a few minutes and it hadn't reappeared and I was worried that it had smelt us and decided not to eat here tonight. That animal showed at 7.30 which is the earliest I've had so far. Ten long minutes past before I noticed a badger approaching down the path to the left of the hide. He came into the feeding area a little way, but was acting very cautiously. At one point he ran back up the path he'd arrived from and I just hoped that wasn't it for the evening. It wasn't. A couple more minutes went by and another badger appeared from the main path and began working its way towards the hide. He then trotted down the right side of the feeding area and I thought we'd lost that one too. I needn't have worried as both badgers now made their way back into the feeding area and settled in to eating and sniffing. They sat contentedly eating about four feet from the hide and were moving closer, slowly. A couple of times they stopped and looked at the hide, or sniffed the air and I just held my breath. As I had not put too much food close to the hide, less than a metre out, I now had to decide whether to risk feeding them additional nuts. Would the movement scare them off? It doesn't normally, but if they were being extra cautious tonight, you never know. I decided to risk it and after opening up the net slightly, I whistled and threw some nuts out. They had a good look, but moved onto the nuts and came a little closer. I looked around at my guests and all were intently watching the badgers and all seemed to be smiling a little.
The badgers had now settled down and I was managing to feed them additional nuts from time to time. They were now right outside the hide in front of the door and, as ever, their noses were to the ground trying to find anything edible. Occasionally, one or the other, would lift it's nose and have a bit of a sniff, but there were no obvious signs of fear or panic. Having fed the badgers several more times, I felt they had probably had enough and stopped feeding. The badgers continued sniffing around looking for more food and one of them eventually lifted his head and sniffed along the doorstep. As soon as it smelt the nuts there, it lifted itself up onto the step and began eating. As I said earlier, we had the net down, but the view was very good and at one point the badger lifted itself up even higher, raised it's nose to sniff the air and put it up against the net. Chris, Wendy, Beth and Amy were all sat within two or three feet of the badger, who even now didn't suddenly run off or panic, it just carried on sniffing, looking for that last nut. It took another five minutes, or more, before both badgers had wandered off into the night. In excited whispers, we began discussing the events of the evening, collected our things and made our way back up to the farm.
Vince was delighted that we had had such a great display and we all had a bit of a chat about badgers, owls and wildlife in general. It was a great evening and all involved had an enjoyable experience, some of whom had never seen a live badger before. You can cross that one off the list now!
If you read this blog regularly, you will know that we had a family of four in to see the badgers and had a no show. I was really disappointed so we decided to offer them a return trip to try their luck again. I was a little nervous about this trip as five in the hide is a lot and I didn't want them to be disappointed again. It also turned out that the wind had swung round to a North Westerly today meaning the wind would be moving from the hide to the feeding area. To cap all that, a near full moon was due and it was a clear sky. The moon would be shining straight into the hide. Not that I was at all negative as the badgers had been showing so well recently.
When they arrived, I met them in reception and we had a bit of a chat. They were quite excited at having another go and with the dusk well and truly here we made a move down to the hide. On arrival at the hide at a quarter past seven, we sorted out seating for them and then I started putting the nuts and dog food out. I put more food further from the hide tonight so hopefully the badgers would be feeding confidently before moving closer to the hide. I put two small LED lights up illuminating the area where the majority of the food was and had my trusty LED handheld for illuminating anything outside of this area. We settled in, I put the net covering the door down and we began the wait. As a last act before the wait began, I put some nuts in two piles on the doorstep and told them we may be lucky. After a few minutes, we could hear a pair of Little Owls calling to each other. Shortly after that, with lots of screeching and other noise, a Little Owl flew into the tree opposite the hide and perched on the end of a dead branch so we could easily see it. A minute or two later, it flew off towards the farm. The Tawny Owls started just after this with at least two birds calling to each other. At least we had seen some wildlife, if not badgers.
A few more minutes went by and I spotted a badger to the right of the hide and indicated this to the others. By time I'd turned around to look again, it had gone. I waited a few minutes and it hadn't reappeared and I was worried that it had smelt us and decided not to eat here tonight. That animal showed at 7.30 which is the earliest I've had so far. Ten long minutes past before I noticed a badger approaching down the path to the left of the hide. He came into the feeding area a little way, but was acting very cautiously. At one point he ran back up the path he'd arrived from and I just hoped that wasn't it for the evening. It wasn't. A couple more minutes went by and another badger appeared from the main path and began working its way towards the hide. He then trotted down the right side of the feeding area and I thought we'd lost that one too. I needn't have worried as both badgers now made their way back into the feeding area and settled in to eating and sniffing. They sat contentedly eating about four feet from the hide and were moving closer, slowly. A couple of times they stopped and looked at the hide, or sniffed the air and I just held my breath. As I had not put too much food close to the hide, less than a metre out, I now had to decide whether to risk feeding them additional nuts. Would the movement scare them off? It doesn't normally, but if they were being extra cautious tonight, you never know. I decided to risk it and after opening up the net slightly, I whistled and threw some nuts out. They had a good look, but moved onto the nuts and came a little closer. I looked around at my guests and all were intently watching the badgers and all seemed to be smiling a little.
The badgers had now settled down and I was managing to feed them additional nuts from time to time. They were now right outside the hide in front of the door and, as ever, their noses were to the ground trying to find anything edible. Occasionally, one or the other, would lift it's nose and have a bit of a sniff, but there were no obvious signs of fear or panic. Having fed the badgers several more times, I felt they had probably had enough and stopped feeding. The badgers continued sniffing around looking for more food and one of them eventually lifted his head and sniffed along the doorstep. As soon as it smelt the nuts there, it lifted itself up onto the step and began eating. As I said earlier, we had the net down, but the view was very good and at one point the badger lifted itself up even higher, raised it's nose to sniff the air and put it up against the net. Chris, Wendy, Beth and Amy were all sat within two or three feet of the badger, who even now didn't suddenly run off or panic, it just carried on sniffing, looking for that last nut. It took another five minutes, or more, before both badgers had wandered off into the night. In excited whispers, we began discussing the events of the evening, collected our things and made our way back up to the farm.
Vince was delighted that we had had such a great display and we all had a bit of a chat about badgers, owls and wildlife in general. It was a great evening and all involved had an enjoyable experience, some of whom had never seen a live badger before. You can cross that one off the list now!
Tuesday 29/9/09 - Two badgers and some owls
I was off work today so I've already been over to the centre for a wander round with the camera. It was another lovely day and, although I didn't see much, it was nice being out there. A photographer was in photographing Leighton, the Buzzard and although I wasn't too close to where this was taking place, I heard a wild Buzzard calling, so looking around, there were in fact two wild birds. They flew over Leighton and the photographer and began rising. I took another ten or fifteen paces and looked back for the birds, but they had apparently disappeared. I looked a little harder and they were small specs in the sky. They must have risen at a fantastic rate to be that high so soon. As I watched them circling, there was still no movement of their wings, they just soar higher and higher.
I'm back over at the centre at about 7.30pm ready to feed and watch. With animals showing up as early as 7.45pm, I need to be down there and ready by then. I can hear at least two Tawny Owls as I walk down in the gathering dusk, but don't see them. Food out and into the hide, net stays up again tonight as I have been enjoying the uninterupted view of the badgers recently. I've only been in the hide for about five minutes when a badger appears from the right of the hide. He also comes almost along the front of the hide, very close. This is unusual as they often start further out and work their way towards the hide. As normal, I have one LED light illuminating a patch about a metre in front of the hide. He is soon here eating the free offerings I have left out. From the main path, a second badger appears and he is soon feeding close in to the hide, too. I have place myself a little further out into the doorway than normal and I think the badgers notice me. They keep sniffing the air whilst looking in my direction. I also think that the very slight breeze we have is blowing from behind the hide blowing my scent towards the animals. I think because they are a bit more alert than normal, every slight sound I make, but moving my arm, for example, they latch onto and have a bit of a look. Maybe they can see the movement. It doesn't stop them getting pretty close, though. When I decide to feed some additional nuts both badgers watch as I get some from my coat pocket and look slightly nervous. As I whistle, they start sniffing and when I throw them out, the movement doesn't affect the badgers at all as they rush to where the nuts have fallen. They polish of the nuts quickly and I swear they are looking at me and waiting for more! I whistle and let them have some more. I think these two badgers are getting used to this routine as they actually sit there waiting until I throw some more out. When I decide to stop feeding, they sit there for a good thirty seconds before starting to sniff around. It's now they will be bold enough to come up to the step, where I have positioned some nuts. The smaller of the two is always first in line for these nuts and with both front paws on the step I get wonderful views of the animal. During this feeding I have noticed a couple of rabbits to the left of the hide. They don't act nervously at all and with badgers being only fifteen yards away, I'm surprised. Perhaps they know they can outrun a badger if needed.
I stop feeding more nuts and one badger has a good sniff around for three or four minutes before he's leaving the feeding area via the main path. The other animal doesn't want to give in so easily. He sniffs around for a good ten minutes before disappearing to the right of the hide. I start putting my camera, torches and chair away when I hear sniffing. He's reappeared from the left of the hide and is right outside again! Another five or six minutes goes by before the gives up and exits via the path to the left. I sit there a little longer before exiting the hide, leaving a few more nuts for any latecomers and head back. A fairly uneventful walk back up, apart from a rustle in the hedge here and there. Back at the farm I go and watch as Vince introduces Clyde, a Lanner/Gyr falcon, to the hood that falcons wear to keep them calm. He has successfully put it on once and although Clyde is rather vocal, it doesn't look like this will be a problem for him in the future. Whilst watching this, the local, wild Tawnys are very active and we see one fly across the aviaries into a nearby tree where it continues calling. Lovely! A quick cup of coffee and off home. I'm amazed that the thermometer in the car is registering 15 degrees. Very warm for evenings at this time of year. I can't see that lasting too much longer...
Monday 28/9/09 - A quieter night (for my heart!)
After the excitement of last night with a badger in the hide, I'm eager to get down and see the badgers again this evening. When I arrive at the Barn Owl Centre, I can already hear wild Tawny Owls calling to each other. They are not year near the compound, but that may happen later if they come over "for a chat" with some of the rescue birds.
![]()
As I approach the hide I notice a dark blob on the grass in front of it. A badger is already there. It is 7.40pm and still only dusk, but one animal is already there. As I approach, he makes good his escape and disappears into the hedge. If past experience is anything to go by, he'll be back soon. I quickly put the nuts and dog food out, put up a small LED torch to illuminate an area about a metre from the hide and get on my little chair. The badger I spooked on my way down is back out already. He reappears from the right of the hide and is soon feeding in the pool of light. About ten minutes goes by and a second badger appears from the main path and soon joins his colleague. Again tonight, I've not put the net down so have uninterupted views of the two animals feeding. They work their way closer to the hide and I begin feeding nuts to them by throwing them out after a whistle to alert them something is happening. When I whistle, the badgers look at me with their ears up and seem to be waiting for the nuts to fall. As soon as they do they are on to them and a bit of push and shove normally takes place. As mentioned before, these two animals seem of equal stature in the clan as both can win these pushing fights.
When I decide to stop feeding any more nuts, the badgers begin looking around and generally find the nuts on the doorstep. The image above shows a badger just finishing off the nuts on the doorstep and he certainly looks like he's enjoying them! After about ten minutes, the badgers realise there will be no more food tonight and disappear on their natural feeding routine. I don't want to overfeed them on peanuts and dogfood, or make them reliant on a non natural food supply.
I make my way back up to the farm and the wild Tawny Owls are about. They are calling to some of the owls which are residents here at the centre. I just love the Tawny's call and could stand and listen all night. However, with blogs to update and sleep to be had, I head off for home.
Badger Fact
A badger belongs to a family of animals called the Mustelidae (which means they have a musk gland) which contains animals such as the weasel, otter and mink.
Tuesday 22/9/09 - A fox for good measure
It's been another very pleasant day and I'm looking forward to spending some time down in the hide; my daily fix of nature! I follow the normal routine tonight and I'm in the hide before eight. It is a lovely evening and with little wind about, it seems very relaxing and just right for badgers. The first thing to show tonight is a fox, however. He moves in a semi-circle in front of the hide, never coming closer than about four metres. He knows there is food there, but won't come any closer. A badger shows up and the fox stays out of the badgers way. I've found that once a badger has moved into the feeding area, foxes don't tend to stay for much longer. Possibly with the awareness that a human is sat in the hide plus the fact a badger may decide to have a chew on it, the fox trots off as the second badger arrives. In the picture, below, you can see the fox keeping a close eye on the badger. It's also interesting to note the badger is sitting down, like a dog really. They tend to eat like this quite a lot and on the odd occasion, they lie down too! Hopefully this is a sign that they are relaxed and not under any stress.
A fox keeps a wary eye on a badger
Meaning to get home a little earlier tonight, I decide not to feed any additional nuts. It's slightly concerning that the badgers, the smaller one in particular, are now waiting for additional food to be thrown out to them. If they hear movement, they are moving slightly closer in anticipation of something being thrown out to them. Normally they would baulk at the sound of movement within the hide, but because they hear movement as I get some peanuts out of my pocket, they are now associating that with some extra food being thrown out, they put up with it and sit and wait. It puts me under pressure, being a bit soft for that stripey face, to feed them more, but I am being sensible and only feeding a certain amount; never throwing all the food I carry out to them.
A number of wild owls are about tonight, all Tawny's. I can hear them calling from several directions. One is right up by the centre and calling consistently. Hopefully I will see him when I walk back up. One badger wanders off down the main path, the other is circulating around the feeding area and keeps coming back to the hide looking for more food. He eventually gets the hint and wanders off into the dark. It's important to me that they leave of their own accord and don't see me vacate the hide. I see a badger on the path on the way back up, but don't get close to it. The wild Tawny is still calling from a tree next to the flying area. I can see him quite clearly as I walk back up and move closer for a better look. I get within about twenty yards, but he then flies off to a tree a little further away.
Badger Fact
Badgers live, on average, between twelve and fifteen years!
Monday 21/9/09 - A glorious sunset
It's been a lovely day again today. It's now a little colder at about 7.45PM, but still very pleasant. The sunset is also a corker too! The picture, below, was taken from the flying area just outside the aviary area at the Barn Owl Centre. It was a good one, to say the least.
On down to the hide whilst listening to the wild Tawny's again. At least two are calling to each other not too far away. I can also hear the "nocturnal" heron that haunts these parts. I hear him quite regularly, even after dark and once or twice I've spooked him as he roosts in one of the Oak trees on the way back to the centre. I reach the hide and put the food out in the usual way. I decide not to drop the net tonight, again, as it would be a great way for a single guest, or maybe two, to see the badgers without the net between them and the animals. I have tried it with others there as both my daughter and Vince have been there without a net. Both occasions were fairly successful but I'd need to be confident that the badgers would show before committing to that particular idea.
I'm now in the hide, food out and I'm not disappointed as a few minutes later, a lone badger appears from the main path. I get the usual tingle of excitement as he moves closer and closer to the hide. He's soon feeding in the pool of light I illuminate the point a metre, or so, out from the hide. I'm knelt to the right side of the door watching and taking the odd picture. This lone animal eats all of the food I've put out and is now looking for more. As he's eaten what I put out for two, I decide not to feed any additional nuts tonight. I can almost sense a tinge of disappointment from the badger as he eventually ambles of into the dark. I wait a few minutes as the badgers can often return. One of the tricks they use is to disappear to one side of the hide, but reappear from the other a few minutes later. I wouldn't want to leave the hide in view of a badger as that could set the confidence levels of the animal back several weeks, or longer. I close up the hide and leave a few more nuts lying around and begin walking back up to the centre. Just around the first corner on the path I spook a badger. He was close when I scared him, but up against the longer grass adjacent to the path, I didnt see him until I was almost on top of him. I'm not sure who jumped most, me or him! Anyway, he went crashing off into the hedge and I continued my walk back up. I had a second fright when the heron suddenly called it's awful call right above my head as it took flight from the Oak as I passed underneath it. To top off the night, I went through the gate into the top field and turned right along the hedge. Another badger here suddenly goes crashing off into the hedge. Three encounters in 300 yards, or so. I'll be a nervous wreck if this sort of thing happens regularly!
Sunday 20/9/09 - Part 2, the night shift
The nights are certainly drawing in now. I keep getting caught out by the early arrival of dusk each evening. Soon I'll be struggling to get to the badgers before it's dark as I'll be at work. I guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.
Tonight, though, I'm over there before dark, just. I get down to the hide and put the food out whilst listening to several wild Tawny Owls which are close by. One is in the tree just behind the hide to the left and is quite loud. I decide to leave the net up tonight so just the open doorway between me and the badgers. When I do this I use a camo "buff" to cover my face as it takes away that white facial disk which is a classic signature for us humans.Just gone eight and the first badger shows up. He makes his way towards the hide and is soon a metre, or so, away busily eating nuts and dog food. The badgers are coming into the most important time of year for feeding as they need to put some weight on to cover the winter months when food is not so abundant. The two that are turning up regularly shouldn't have any problems!
Badgers don't always see eye to eye!
The second badger does turn up tonight, about ten minutes after the first. The second to arrive is generally at the hide very quickly as the first one eats the trail of nuts I leave leading into the feeding area. They are both busily sniffing and eating. I'm still amazed at how wonderful these animals look, they are in really good condition and those faces are just striking, If they hear something, they pause and can look straight at you and their eyes twinkle away. I don't think they are the most intelligent wild animals around, but they have something about them that is very appealing.
Badgers embarking in some "argy bargy"
They've eaten most of the food now and are beginning to wander round, noses to the ground trying to find every last nut. I decide to feed some extra nuts now and whistle and throw a few extras out. That isn't as straight forward as it sounds as I've got the Buff covering my face and I can't whistle. I have to pull it down below my chin in order to do that, but they don't seem to mind. They both converge on the nuts and begin trying to push each other out of the way. As I've said before, I find this highly amusing and would like to get it on video. This is proving difficult as I need three hands really. One for the camcorder, one for the lamp for additional lighting and the third to throw the nuts! Photographing it is a little easier as I can throw with one hand and hold the camera in the second, managing to push the shutter release with my thumb and flash being part of the camera gives me the light I need. I have put some nuts on the doorstep of the hide and when I stop throwing additional nuts out, the badgers, or one of them in particular, comes investigating. His nose leads him to where they are and he puts his feet onto the door step and starts feeding. He is about 18 inches from me, if that. The picture below isn't very good as it is difficult to move and frame and focus a shot with a badger so close, and remember, no net tonight. I think he looks like he's playing the piano, but look at those claws! A great design for a digging animal, wouldn't you say?
Sunday 20/9/09 - Buzzards and wild flowers on a glorious day
Last night was a good night down at the hide. The badgers showed well, the wild owls were out in force and this weather is very pleasant with light breezes, into my face when I'm in the hide meaning the badgers don't smell me so easily. I do wonder, however, why I'm generally getting just the two badgers.I'm fairly confident that they are the same two most nights and as I see badgers on the way back up to the farm, I know others are around. Why is it only these two visit the hide? Are the other animals more wary or feel it is a long way off their normal feeding routes? I'd be interested to find out...
This afternoon, as it becoming the norm, I wandered over to the Barn Owl Centre for a walk around and to see some birds fly. When I arrive, a small group of people is out on a walk with Leighton, the Buzzard. I wander on down towards them and take a little bit of video of this bird flying amongst the visitors. Leighton is a great bird to be out with. He flys freely into the trees and comes back and lands very close to the visitors. This makes him one of the favourites with visitors, I would guess. It's always nice to see a wild Buzzard when out with Leighton, too, as the visitors can see what this common bird looks like up close.
Here is Leighton flying over the wild flower meadow
When Leighton goes back to the centre, I have a wander around the farm and photograph some of the wild flowers currently on display. It's then back up to the farm to do a bit of IT work on the computers. After that, home and a quick bite then back to the badgers!
This afternoon, as it becoming the norm, I wandered over to the Barn Owl Centre for a walk around and to see some birds fly. When I arrive, a small group of people is out on a walk with Leighton, the Buzzard. I wander on down towards them and take a little bit of video of this bird flying amongst the visitors. Leighton is a great bird to be out with. He flys freely into the trees and comes back and lands very close to the visitors. This makes him one of the favourites with visitors, I would guess. It's always nice to see a wild Buzzard when out with Leighton, too, as the visitors can see what this common bird looks like up close.
Here is Leighton flying over the wild flower meadow
When Leighton goes back to the centre, I have a wander around the farm and photograph some of the wild flowers currently on display. It's then back up to the farm to do a bit of IT work on the computers. After that, home and a quick bite then back to the badgers!
Saturday 19/9/09 - A good night and not only badgers
I fed the badgers last night, uneventfully. I've been lucky at seeing things during the daylight when I'm not watching badgers, foxes and the like. Nothing last night, though.
Tonight, as with any night when I've not watched the badgers the night before, I'm quite keen to get over there and see what's about. Usual routine, arrive, quick chat, top up with nuts and off into the gathering dark. I actually get to the hide about 20:00 and after putting the food out I sit and relax, waiting for whatever turns up. About 20:10, my first visitor arrives. Out of the dusk, I can see the distinctive head of a badger sniffing his way towards me. As I approach the hide, I leave a bit of a trail of peanuts over the last part of the path and increase them slightly as I enter the feeding area. It is this line of peanuts the badgers sniff down towards the hide once into the feeding area. Although I've now been doing this since July, it still gives me a thrill when I see a badger coming towards the hide.
When I get back to the centre, I discuss the evening with Vince and Juliette and as we are chatting it becomes apparant that we have some wild Tawny Owls having a chat with Ollie, one of the Tawny Owls here at the Centre. One is in the tree over by the flying area, and although he is quite close, we can't see him. As I'm stood in the office doorway wth Juliette, he flies from that tree, right over the aviaries and is illuminated by the lighting around the aviaries. He looks great, calling as he flies over to the tree just behind the barn here. He sits there calling for a while, but suddenly calls even closer. Juliette peers out of the office door, and there on the kitchen roof, maybe four or five yards away, is a wild Tawny. He doesn't stay long once he's seen us, but it was fantastic to see and a great way to end the evening.
Tonight, as with any night when I've not watched the badgers the night before, I'm quite keen to get over there and see what's about. Usual routine, arrive, quick chat, top up with nuts and off into the gathering dark. I actually get to the hide about 20:00 and after putting the food out I sit and relax, waiting for whatever turns up. About 20:10, my first visitor arrives. Out of the dusk, I can see the distinctive head of a badger sniffing his way towards me. As I approach the hide, I leave a bit of a trail of peanuts over the last part of the path and increase them slightly as I enter the feeding area. It is this line of peanuts the badgers sniff down towards the hide once into the feeding area. Although I've now been doing this since July, it still gives me a thrill when I see a badger coming towards the hide.Tonight the badger is, for now, alone. I kneel down by the door, which does have the net down tonight, and watch the badger feeding a few feet from me. Another badger appears around the corner on the main path and as there are no nuts for him because the first one ate them all, he is soon alongside the first. These are my two regulars, I'm pretty certain, and they confidently feed close to me and the hide. As the nuts I put out are nearly gone, I begin to feed the badgers extra nuts. As per usual, I do this be whistling and then throwing a few nuts out to them. As I whistle, both badgers stop and lift their heads and I then throw the nuts out to them. As soon as they hit the floor, the badgers are sniffing them out and tucking in. If I throw the nuts between them, this normally triggers a bit of push and shove, or "argy bargy" as I like to call it. It always makes me smile when they lean into each other and try and push the competition away from the nuts with little grunting noises into the bargain. I can repeat the additional nut feeding several times and the animals just keep on eating. They are now right outside the hide and I decide to put some nuts onto the door step. So they don't see my hand appear out of the darkness right in front of them, I whistle and throw some nuts slightly behind them, causing them to turn around. I can then put some nuts on the doorstep, hopefully without getting seen. I whistle and throw some nuts very close to the hide and they turn and move right up to the step. As the grass is long here, they snuffle around and use those fierce looking claws to try and get the peanuts out. Once these few nuts are gone, they are sniffing around again and one latches onto the nuts on the doorstep. He puts a claw onto the step and lifts himself up. A quick glance directly at me, then he's eating the half a dozen nuts I put onto the step. I have the camera with me and take a shot. The badger doesn't flinch and after finishing the nuts, he drops back down to continue the hunt for more food. I repeat the doorstep feeding several times, taking a shot each time. Eventually I feel they have had enough food and stop feeding any more. It takes a good ten minutes of sniffing around before both badgers have wandered off and now I can shut the hide up, leave a few nuts for the second shift and head back to the Barn Owl Centre.
When I get back to the centre, I discuss the evening with Vince and Juliette and as we are chatting it becomes apparant that we have some wild Tawny Owls having a chat with Ollie, one of the Tawny Owls here at the Centre. One is in the tree over by the flying area, and although he is quite close, we can't see him. As I'm stood in the office doorway wth Juliette, he flies from that tree, right over the aviaries and is illuminated by the lighting around the aviaries. He looks great, calling as he flies over to the tree just behind the barn here. He sits there calling for a while, but suddenly calls even closer. Juliette peers out of the office door, and there on the kitchen roof, maybe four or five yards away, is a wild Tawny. He doesn't stay long once he's seen us, but it was fantastic to see and a great way to end the evening.All Pictures Copyright
Thursday 17/9/09 - Back to normal?
Beth, my daughter is coming over to see the badgers tonight. She's always pleased to come over to the centre and see Connie, the juvenile Long-eared Owl, her favourite. Connie isn't looking quite so juvenile nowadays, it's amazing how quick they grow up. You can say the same about your kids, too, I guess.
We get to the Barn Owl Centre before eight, but I need to do a bit of work on a computer before going down to the hide. I don't complete the work and leave a little later than I'd like, but with peanuts and dogmeat on board and a daughter in tow, we set off down to the hide. Once there, I put the food out and we settle in. We have a bit of a wait and the first thing to show up tonight is a fox. I enjoy watching the foxes and so does Beth. She hasnt' seen them as often as me (as I'm here a lot more). Foxes are definitely more cautious than the badgers; they don't want to come into the pool of light and if a badger is present, they don't normally get too close to those either. This one is circling around the front of the hide and is acting quite nervously. I'm sure he knows we're there. A badger appears and shows no interest in the fox and moves towards the hide. The picture, above, shows the fox about as close as it cares to get to a badger, although I have seen them closer.
The picture here shows a badger with a mouthful of dog food, which they seem to thoroughly enjoy. The one in the foreground is eating peanuts and isn't bothered about his colleague eating the meat. In fact, I would go as far as to say they enjoy peanuts more than dog food. Beth is enjoying the additional feeding with a small snigger escaping every so often, although it doesn't seem to bother the badgers. At one point there is a badger right outside the hide with his nose up against the torch and Beth puts her face up very close to the badger with just the net separating them. Suddenly, the badger is off. He must have seen her. He doesn't reappear after a few minutes and as his feeding partner has already ambled off, we decide to call it a night and head back to the farm.
We get to the Barn Owl Centre before eight, but I need to do a bit of work on a computer before going down to the hide. I don't complete the work and leave a little later than I'd like, but with peanuts and dogmeat on board and a daughter in tow, we set off down to the hide. Once there, I put the food out and we settle in. We have a bit of a wait and the first thing to show up tonight is a fox. I enjoy watching the foxes and so does Beth. She hasnt' seen them as often as me (as I'm here a lot more). Foxes are definitely more cautious than the badgers; they don't want to come into the pool of light and if a badger is present, they don't normally get too close to those either. This one is circling around the front of the hide and is acting quite nervously. I'm sure he knows we're there. A badger appears and shows no interest in the fox and moves towards the hide. The picture, above, shows the fox about as close as it cares to get to a badger, although I have seen them closer.I apologise for cutting the badger in half, but with the fox being very alert, I cannot get my line of vision onto the screen on the back of the camera and have to guess where the camera is pointing! The fox eventually tires of pussy-footing around the badger and disappears. A second badger has now joined the first and we have them fairly close to the hide already. I can now whistle and feed the badgers a few extra nuts at a time. I'm sure they can see my hand, but wait patiently after I've whistled until they hear the nuts fall. I really enjoy this part and must be careful not to over feed them!
The picture here shows a badger with a mouthful of dog food, which they seem to thoroughly enjoy. The one in the foreground is eating peanuts and isn't bothered about his colleague eating the meat. In fact, I would go as far as to say they enjoy peanuts more than dog food. Beth is enjoying the additional feeding with a small snigger escaping every so often, although it doesn't seem to bother the badgers. At one point there is a badger right outside the hide with his nose up against the torch and Beth puts her face up very close to the badger with just the net separating them. Suddenly, the badger is off. He must have seen her. He doesn't reappear after a few minutes and as his feeding partner has already ambled off, we decide to call it a night and head back to the farm. I finish off the work I started earlier and head back for home. I'm out tomorrow night so won't be watching. I will be feeding, however, and if anything shows I'll certainly let you know about it. Otherwise I'm hoping to watch again on Saturday night.
Wednesday 16/9/09 - More guests tonight and my dad too.
I had arranged with my dad that he could come over to see the badgers tonight before some regulars at the Barn Owl Centre asked if they could come along. These guys sponsor one of the Barn Owls here. I thought that would be fine and, in rather less panic than last night, I arrive at the centre to find my guests already waiting for me. Introductions over, top up with nuts and a quick chat outlining what the plan is and guidelines on how to behave. They have read my guidelines and look like "professional" badger watchers! They ask about last night and I tell them we had a no show, apart from the one brief glimpse. They look slightly disappointed, but we set off for the hide in good spirits. I've never had two no shows in a row.
We arrive at the hide and the three visitors settle in as I put the food out.Desperate not to have another no show, I use just one light tonight in case the additional lighting I used put them off, although it hadn't affected them on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Wind is still that North-Easterly, which blows from the hide into the feeding area. That fantastic sense of smell the badgers have concerns me somewhat. It is 20:00, we are quietly waiting in the hide. 20:15 comes, prime time for badgers of late, but nothing. 20:30, still nothing. At last, I see some movement out in the feeding area. Not a badger, though. A rabbit comes towards us. Not very exciting, but the first rabbit I’ve seen from the hide! I’m now getting a little uncomfortable and I’m not talking about the fact I’ve been kneeling for ages and can’t feel my feet! Not another no show, I hope.
20:50 now and from the main path in front of the hide, I can make out a stripey black and white head. Phew, a badger at last! He barely makes it into the feeding area, however, when he turns and disappears back into the night. There was no noise or movement from the hide; he must have smelt us. As 21:00 arrives, another badger from the path to the left this time. I point him out to the guests, but one cannot see as he is too far around to the left. Amazingly, this one too decides to disappear. My spirits are now rather low, to say the least. We've seen badgers, but not like I'm used to seeing them, up close and personal.
I'm about to call it a day when a third badger appears from the main path ahead. This one is working his way towards the hide, eating peanuts en route. Thankfully this one is feeding confidently and I soon have the torch on him too. He gets to within about six feet of the hide giving everyone a wonderful view. You can easily hear him eating and sniffing and even get the odd whiff of him as the breeze eddies around the hide. We've been watching him for about ten minutes when I suddenly get cramp in my toes! I have to move and, of course, spook the animal. Now the badger has gone, the conversation begins, albeit in whispers. They seem very pleased to have seen the badger and we decide to call it a night. I do see another badger on the way back up, but he runs off before the others see him.
Back at the farm and over a nice, hot cup of coffee, we talk about the evening. The guys are really happy to have seen a badger that close and they keep saying what a great night it's been. They can't believe how beautiful this animal was, just six or seven feet away from them. At last, I've shared a badger watching experience with someone outside of my family, a bit of money has come into the Barn Owl Centre and we all go home feeling happy at an evening well spent. Thanks, guys!
We arrive at the hide and the three visitors settle in as I put the food out.Desperate not to have another no show, I use just one light tonight in case the additional lighting I used put them off, although it hadn't affected them on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Wind is still that North-Easterly, which blows from the hide into the feeding area. That fantastic sense of smell the badgers have concerns me somewhat. It is 20:00, we are quietly waiting in the hide. 20:15 comes, prime time for badgers of late, but nothing. 20:30, still nothing. At last, I see some movement out in the feeding area. Not a badger, though. A rabbit comes towards us. Not very exciting, but the first rabbit I’ve seen from the hide! I’m now getting a little uncomfortable and I’m not talking about the fact I’ve been kneeling for ages and can’t feel my feet! Not another no show, I hope.
20:50 now and from the main path in front of the hide, I can make out a stripey black and white head. Phew, a badger at last! He barely makes it into the feeding area, however, when he turns and disappears back into the night. There was no noise or movement from the hide; he must have smelt us. As 21:00 arrives, another badger from the path to the left this time. I point him out to the guests, but one cannot see as he is too far around to the left. Amazingly, this one too decides to disappear. My spirits are now rather low, to say the least. We've seen badgers, but not like I'm used to seeing them, up close and personal.
I'm about to call it a day when a third badger appears from the main path ahead. This one is working his way towards the hide, eating peanuts en route. Thankfully this one is feeding confidently and I soon have the torch on him too. He gets to within about six feet of the hide giving everyone a wonderful view. You can easily hear him eating and sniffing and even get the odd whiff of him as the breeze eddies around the hide. We've been watching him for about ten minutes when I suddenly get cramp in my toes! I have to move and, of course, spook the animal. Now the badger has gone, the conversation begins, albeit in whispers. They seem very pleased to have seen the badger and we decide to call it a night. I do see another badger on the way back up, but he runs off before the others see him.
Back at the farm and over a nice, hot cup of coffee, we talk about the evening. The guys are really happy to have seen a badger that close and they keep saying what a great night it's been. They can't believe how beautiful this animal was, just six or seven feet away from them. At last, I've shared a badger watching experience with someone outside of my family, a bit of money has come into the Barn Owl Centre and we all go home feeling happy at an evening well spent. Thanks, guys!
Tuesday 15/9/09 - Our first paying guests, officially!
Well, all the hours spent feeding the badgers and getting them to feed consistently close to the hide will be tested tonight. I have a family of four coming out to hopefully see the badgers. I was leaving for the centre at just gone seven when I realise my son has used my rechargeable torch, which I use to badger watch, for a photographic project he is doing. The torch is almost dead. What am I going to do? Tonight is a big night and suddenly, my main torch is flat and it takes hours to recharge! I decide to dash of to B&Q to see what I can get there, but by time I arrive at the BOC, it's way later than I would have liked, although my visitors haven't arrive as yet. I wait a few minutes and they turn up. I introduce myself and have a quick chat with them. As it is already almost dark, I suggest we make our way down to the hide. We have put some chairs in the hide for them to sit on. I get them inside and put the food out, along with a couple of torches which illuminate the feeding area. It's 20:06 and the wait begins. Badgers have been showing from about 20:15 recently and this time comes and goes. 20:30 comes and goes. Not a badger anywhere. I stick it out and as 21:00 approaches a badger appears on the path to the left of the hide. He's only been there a short time when he turns and trots off. I have a chat with the family and decide to go and have a look along the main path to see if any are on their way. I can see some eye shine off in the distance, but that's all. I make my way back to the hide feeling rather embarrassed if I'm honest. I explain that the badgers are normally out by this time. I give them the option to call it a night, but they decide to stick it out. However, at 21:30 I decide to call it a day. We walk back around the wild flower meadow and all I can do is recount some of my experiences.
As we walk back into the Barn Owl Centre, Vince asks how we got on. "Five very disappointed people" I reply, then add "no show". The guests are very understanding and have a look around the birds and have a chat with Vince. I find out the two girls have never seen a badger and my mood darkens further. This is just the opportunity I was hoping for; to show people a badger in all its glory, right in front of them. But, it didn't happen and that has to be expected with wildlife. There is no guarantee. I still feel disappointed, however, and I find I have two more visitors tomorrow night. I hope that turns out better than this evening.
I speak to Vince about this and we agree that if a no show occurs, we will offer guests the opportunity of a free entry to the centre or another visit to hopefully see the badgers.
A couple of possible reasons why the badgers didn't show tonight come to mind. Firstly, we had a north-easterly wind blowing, which comes from behind the hide towards the badgers. This could blow our scent out towards the animals, which isn't good. Secondly, Vince mowed the paths into the wild flower meadow last night. Were they exploring the new paths through this natural larder? Also, on the Severn Trent reserve next door, the grass was mown very short today having been left to grow long for several months. Could this too have been a distraction? Who knows. All I know is paying guests are very understanding considering they didn't see very much. Better luck next time!
As we walk back into the Barn Owl Centre, Vince asks how we got on. "Five very disappointed people" I reply, then add "no show". The guests are very understanding and have a look around the birds and have a chat with Vince. I find out the two girls have never seen a badger and my mood darkens further. This is just the opportunity I was hoping for; to show people a badger in all its glory, right in front of them. But, it didn't happen and that has to be expected with wildlife. There is no guarantee. I still feel disappointed, however, and I find I have two more visitors tomorrow night. I hope that turns out better than this evening.
I speak to Vince about this and we agree that if a no show occurs, we will offer guests the opportunity of a free entry to the centre or another visit to hopefully see the badgers.
A couple of possible reasons why the badgers didn't show tonight come to mind. Firstly, we had a north-easterly wind blowing, which comes from behind the hide towards the badgers. This could blow our scent out towards the animals, which isn't good. Secondly, Vince mowed the paths into the wild flower meadow last night. Were they exploring the new paths through this natural larder? Also, on the Severn Trent reserve next door, the grass was mown very short today having been left to grow long for several months. Could this too have been a distraction? Who knows. All I know is paying guests are very understanding considering they didn't see very much. Better luck next time!
Monday14/09/09 - Vince pays us a visit!
When I arrive at the centre tonight, Juliette is giving the birds their supper and winding things down for the day. Vince, I can hear, is out mowing. A quick chat with Juliette and load up with peanuts and I'm ready for the off. Just then, Vince pulls up on the mower and tells me he's put some paths through the wild flower meadow. We wander down for a look and there are several paths right through the meadow giving close access to all the flowers and bugs. We end up wandering down towards the hide and I ask if he's coming down to see the badgers. Bearing in mind, he's the Director of the Barn Owl Centre and in the two or three months I've been feeding the badgers, he's not been down once! Anyway, he says he's coming down for a look so I hope the badgers show up! Don't get me wrong, he has seen lots of photos and video, so he knows what goes on down here.
We get to the hide and a badger is already in the feeding area. This poses a problem as we have to walk past him to get into the hide. We slowly move closer to him and he notices us approaching and disappears into the hedge. I begin putting the food down and Vince opens up the hide. When I've finished putting the food down, I notice Vince is sat on the step of the hide, feet outside. He suggests giving this a try, so I sit next to him and we wait. It's not long before the badger that disappeared into the hedge a few minutes earlier is back. However, he gets to the feeding area, has a good sniff and a look at us and turns tail and disappears. We wait maybe ten minutes before a second badger appears down the main path. He too sniffs the air, looks at us and follows his mate into the hedge to the right of the hide. Vince whispers "maybe we should get inside?". I agree and we move into the hide. We leave the net up, however and it's not long before the next badger arrives. Now we are inside the hide, the badger approaches without any concerns and is soon about three feet out. He's joined by a second badger and they are right outside the hide now, less than two feet from both myself and Vince. I whistle and throw some nuts out and both animals respond to the noise of the nuts hitting the floor by coming over, noses constantly sniffing as usual. I repeat this additional feeding several times and the badgers put on a great display for Vince and myself. Eventually, something spooks them and they trot off into the night. We take the chance to vacate the hide without spooking any animals and make our way back up to the farm.
We decide to take a walk back around the wild flower meadow to see if anything is about down this end of the farm. As we approach the gate into the Severn Trent reserve, which adjoins the BOC, I hear a noise that sounds like two or three men digging, or chopping trees. I stop and listen and we both turn off our torches. I'm wonder if someone is trying to dig the sett up as the sound is very close to the sett. We get into the little grassy area in front of the gate, but all is quiet now. We stand there for a minute in silence, when suddenly, the noise begins again. This time it sounds like a mixture of digging and bark being ripped off a tree. It's quite loud and a little disconcerting, to say the least. Vince moves in towards the hedge from which the sound is coming from and whatever is making the noise starts moving, thankfully away from us. I actually see the hedge move as the animal moves away from the torches. I run on past Vince to see if I can head whatever it is off, hoping to get a glimpse of it. However, it turns around and heads back towards Vince. I wonder if it might be a deer rubbing it's antlers against the trees to remove the velvet that must now be coming off their new antlers. Anyway, the "thing" moves past Vince and then away from him. I walk back towards him and ask him if he saw it? He only saw a bit of it, but says it was quite large, grey and had a tail. He didn't see the head, only the body and back end through a little hole in the hedge. We walk back up towards the farm considering what it might have been. We can't decide, which is a bit of a concern as I spend most nights down at the hide on my own! I could picture all sorts of things you wouldn't want to bump into on a dark night. As we get close to the farm, more movement in the long grass to one side of the path. We both look for what made the noise with torches, but don't see anything, even though it was almost at our feet. Vince thinks maybe a weasel.
Vince thinks the badgers were great and he genuinely seemed to enjoy that. I hope the same happens tomorrow night as our first paying guests are coming, but with the badgers showing this well, I needn't worry!
We get to the hide and a badger is already in the feeding area. This poses a problem as we have to walk past him to get into the hide. We slowly move closer to him and he notices us approaching and disappears into the hedge. I begin putting the food down and Vince opens up the hide. When I've finished putting the food down, I notice Vince is sat on the step of the hide, feet outside. He suggests giving this a try, so I sit next to him and we wait. It's not long before the badger that disappeared into the hedge a few minutes earlier is back. However, he gets to the feeding area, has a good sniff and a look at us and turns tail and disappears. We wait maybe ten minutes before a second badger appears down the main path. He too sniffs the air, looks at us and follows his mate into the hedge to the right of the hide. Vince whispers "maybe we should get inside?". I agree and we move into the hide. We leave the net up, however and it's not long before the next badger arrives. Now we are inside the hide, the badger approaches without any concerns and is soon about three feet out. He's joined by a second badger and they are right outside the hide now, less than two feet from both myself and Vince. I whistle and throw some nuts out and both animals respond to the noise of the nuts hitting the floor by coming over, noses constantly sniffing as usual. I repeat this additional feeding several times and the badgers put on a great display for Vince and myself. Eventually, something spooks them and they trot off into the night. We take the chance to vacate the hide without spooking any animals and make our way back up to the farm.
We decide to take a walk back around the wild flower meadow to see if anything is about down this end of the farm. As we approach the gate into the Severn Trent reserve, which adjoins the BOC, I hear a noise that sounds like two or three men digging, or chopping trees. I stop and listen and we both turn off our torches. I'm wonder if someone is trying to dig the sett up as the sound is very close to the sett. We get into the little grassy area in front of the gate, but all is quiet now. We stand there for a minute in silence, when suddenly, the noise begins again. This time it sounds like a mixture of digging and bark being ripped off a tree. It's quite loud and a little disconcerting, to say the least. Vince moves in towards the hedge from which the sound is coming from and whatever is making the noise starts moving, thankfully away from us. I actually see the hedge move as the animal moves away from the torches. I run on past Vince to see if I can head whatever it is off, hoping to get a glimpse of it. However, it turns around and heads back towards Vince. I wonder if it might be a deer rubbing it's antlers against the trees to remove the velvet that must now be coming off their new antlers. Anyway, the "thing" moves past Vince and then away from him. I walk back towards him and ask him if he saw it? He only saw a bit of it, but says it was quite large, grey and had a tail. He didn't see the head, only the body and back end through a little hole in the hedge. We walk back up towards the farm considering what it might have been. We can't decide, which is a bit of a concern as I spend most nights down at the hide on my own! I could picture all sorts of things you wouldn't want to bump into on a dark night. As we get close to the farm, more movement in the long grass to one side of the path. We both look for what made the noise with torches, but don't see anything, even though it was almost at our feet. Vince thinks maybe a weasel.
Vince thinks the badgers were great and he genuinely seemed to enjoy that. I hope the same happens tomorrow night as our first paying guests are coming, but with the badgers showing this well, I needn't worry!
Sunday 13/9/09 - An afternoon and evening at the Barn Owl Centre
It was my daughters "unofficial" birthday today as she was away in Spain on her actual birthday. She wanted to go over to the Barn Owl Centre to see if the Eagle Owls were flying as she hadn't seen them flying free. So, over we went (as it doesn't take much to get me over there). A number of cars were in the car park, but the place was deserted when we arrived. They were inside watching an indoor flying display. We went down to the wild flower meadow to see what insects were around and had a wander down to the hide. On the way back up we met the visitors and Karl and Vince out with Kaln, one of the Eagle Owls. This bird is impressive; with a five foot wingspan and flying free over the natural terrain here, it looks wonderful. This pleased Beth as she'd now seen the Eagle Owl flying free. We stayed with the group whilst the owl flew around to different areas and up into the trees. We slowly made our way back to the centre and some people who were on a flying experience went out to fly a Barn Owl called Luna. It's nice watching these sessions because you can see the expressions on the participants faces who are obviously having a great time. After this session, Turner, the brother of Kaln the Eagle Owl had his go at flying. He comes out of his aviary on foot and walks to the flying area which is quite comical to watch. The people on the flying experience now had something a little bigger to fly to them! Juliette then asked Beth to come over and she had a go at receiving this big owl onto the glove. She really enjoyed that! We then had to go back for tea, but I was planning on coming back later.
Kaln flying free
Around 20:00 and I'm back off over to see the badgers. On my own again, for now, but hopefully the company will be stimulating in a short while, although not much conversation. At about 20:15 the badgers turn up, one to begin with followed by another a short while later. Feeding and moving towards the hide, I take some video. The new lights I bought yesterday are in use and making a pleasant change to holding a torch all the time. When the badgers get really close, though, I have to use the handheld as the other lights are pointing out from the hide and close into the hide is in shadow. I've now seen another badger on the path to the left of the hide, but he's decided not to come in and join the fun. The other two, meanwhile, are feeding right under the doorstep into the hide. So close that I can't see their heads, only their backs. The musty smell is quite strong this close to the badgers. As the food is eaten, they start sniffing around looking for more. I whistle and throw a few extra nuts out and the badgers latch find them quickly and eat them. I feed several more times and I'm sure they can see my hand as I feed. It doesn't seem to bother them at all. After last night with the badger climbing onto the doorstep, I'm keen to see if this can be repeated. I actually put some nuts on the doorstep and wait. One of the badgers is sniffing along the front of the hide when he lifts his head up and sniffs the top of the doorstep. Next thing, his front feet with those large claws on the step and he's tucking into the nuts. I manage to get this on video and you can see this below. He is inches away, facing me and eating nuts I' ve just placed there. How amazing is this? He finishes and drops back down so I reach forward and put another eight or ten nuts there. He's back and seems completely unconcerned although he must know I'm there! I repeat this step feeding one more time before I stop feeding altogether and let the badger wander of. Wow, that was a thrill and it's on the video. Hope you enjoy it!
Kaln flying free
Around 20:00 and I'm back off over to see the badgers. On my own again, for now, but hopefully the company will be stimulating in a short while, although not much conversation. At about 20:15 the badgers turn up, one to begin with followed by another a short while later. Feeding and moving towards the hide, I take some video. The new lights I bought yesterday are in use and making a pleasant change to holding a torch all the time. When the badgers get really close, though, I have to use the handheld as the other lights are pointing out from the hide and close into the hide is in shadow. I've now seen another badger on the path to the left of the hide, but he's decided not to come in and join the fun. The other two, meanwhile, are feeding right under the doorstep into the hide. So close that I can't see their heads, only their backs. The musty smell is quite strong this close to the badgers. As the food is eaten, they start sniffing around looking for more. I whistle and throw a few extra nuts out and the badgers latch find them quickly and eat them. I feed several more times and I'm sure they can see my hand as I feed. It doesn't seem to bother them at all. After last night with the badger climbing onto the doorstep, I'm keen to see if this can be repeated. I actually put some nuts on the doorstep and wait. One of the badgers is sniffing along the front of the hide when he lifts his head up and sniffs the top of the doorstep. Next thing, his front feet with those large claws on the step and he's tucking into the nuts. I manage to get this on video and you can see this below. He is inches away, facing me and eating nuts I' ve just placed there. How amazing is this? He finishes and drops back down so I reach forward and put another eight or ten nuts there. He's back and seems completely unconcerned although he must know I'm there! I repeat this step feeding one more time before I stop feeding altogether and let the badger wander of. Wow, that was a thrill and it's on the video. Hope you enjoy it!
Friday 11/9/09 - No watching but what a sunset!
After not being able to feed or watch last night, I can at least achieve the feeding tonight. So, about 19:15 and I'm off to the Barn Owl Centre to put the feed out for the badgers. A quick chat with the staff, still all present, and off down to the hide. I've brought both cameras, video and stills, with me as you never know what you might see. Already, a glorious sunset is turning the few clouds that are about a lovely pink colour with a deepening red to the horizon. As I pass through the gate into the bottom field, I notice on the path ahead of me a load of feathers and a carcass of a pigeon, without a head! I wonder if a Sparrowhawk has been hunting and I've scared it off? The carcass has been partially plucked, hence the mass of feathers around, but the head gone, I'm not sure a Sparrowhawk would eat the head first? I take a bit of video for future reference and continue down to the hide. I put the nuts and dogfood out, check around for signs of activity and just hang around for five minutes in case anything turns up. It doesn't.
I am just about to walk a different way back, but decide to go back via the pigeon carcass just in case the hunter has returned. I'm about thirty yards from the pigeon when I see a fox sniffing around that area. Has he just found the dead pigeon and is taking advantage of the free meal? I don't see how a fox has caught a pigeon unless it was very lucky, or sly. I take a bit of video, although the fox is quite small at maximum zoom. I try and move a little closer, but the fox sees me and darts back into the hedge. When I get back to where the kill was, the carcass is gone. The fox has had his supper already; he must have been close when I passed here on the way down to the hide. It's only been ten minutes since then so he didn't hang around.
I continue walking back towards the farm when a notice a fox ahead of me on the path alongside the wild flower meadow. It's going away from me so I decide to follow it, about forty yards behind it. Suddenly it stops and sniffs the air, then turns around and comes back straight towards me. I begin filming and stay as still as I can. Every so often the fox stops and looks into the hedge and long grass. I take one of these pauses as the opportunity to kneel down and make myself less conspicuous. The fox continues on its path directly for me, but at about twenty five yards, it sees me and runs off in the opposite direction. It would have been nice to see it closer, but as I've discovered, their eyesight is very good.I take some more video of the sunset which has now turned the sky a gorgeous red and almost wish I wasn't going out this evening, it would be nice to stay. I get back to the flying area and Vince and Juliette are there. I mention the fox and pigeon to Vince and the mystery is solved. In one of the adjoining fields they have been shooting pigeon all day and several wounded birds have come down in the nature reserve. The fox wasn't sly, he was just lucky!
I take more video of the sunset and as I chat to Vince, one of the local Kestrels starts calling in the bottom field. You can see it looking at something on the ground, but it is an alarm call it's making. Must be the fox says Vince. We then go on a mini Little Owl hunt behind the farm buildings. We do see one of the Little Owls, but we don't get too close. Still nice to see, though.That's it for today, but all these things I've seen and written about have taken place in the last forty five minutes and not a badger in sight. Just goes to show what you can see if you are at least out there!
Tuesday 8/9/09 - Barn Owls and Badgers
I actually get home from work at a reasonable time this evening. Gives me a bit of time to have a drink and chill a bit before coming back out to see the badgers. Actually, I need to catch up with the blog. Then I remember something I should have done at work. Bu**er. I can do this remotely but it takes me a an hour so there goes my time for updating the blog.
As usual, I arrive at the Barn Owl Centre a little later than I'd hoped, so it's a quick "Hello" and off down to the hide, on my own. I've just got into the second field when some movement catches my eye. Approaching from my right is a wild Barn Owl. As I see him, he sees me and veers off, but it is quite a good view. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera out and it was probably too dark to film anyway. I thought it had flown into one of the Oak trees, but have a quick scan around with the torch and see nothing. On down to the hide, food out and settle down for the wait. As of late, I don't wait too long before the first badger appears. He works his way towards the hide and is soon joined by a second badger. This is the usual pair by the look of things. It's odd how these two turn up each night, but others aren't. I hope this isn't a sign that the others not feeding here because they know I'm there? If you read the blog you will see that we do get other badgers joining these two from time to time, so it isn't a definite that only two will show. I think the large groups we saw early on, with up to seven badgers, are a feature of having young cubs in the clan and sticking together. As the cubs become independant, the clan resorts to individual foraging again. Even the terrible twosome turn up independently when they both show. I feed the badgers additional food by whistling and throwing half a dozen peanuts out every so often, but eventually stop so they can continue on their natural foraging and they wander off.
Walking back up I hear a badger, or two, in the dry ditch that runs almost down to the hide. As I'm walking up the second field I see the Barn Owl again, flying low and quartering the long grass looking for voles. Within a few seconds, he too disappears into the darkness. All in all, a good night topped off by the Barn Owl, twice!
As usual, I arrive at the Barn Owl Centre a little later than I'd hoped, so it's a quick "Hello" and off down to the hide, on my own. I've just got into the second field when some movement catches my eye. Approaching from my right is a wild Barn Owl. As I see him, he sees me and veers off, but it is quite a good view. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera out and it was probably too dark to film anyway. I thought it had flown into one of the Oak trees, but have a quick scan around with the torch and see nothing. On down to the hide, food out and settle down for the wait. As of late, I don't wait too long before the first badger appears. He works his way towards the hide and is soon joined by a second badger. This is the usual pair by the look of things. It's odd how these two turn up each night, but others aren't. I hope this isn't a sign that the others not feeding here because they know I'm there? If you read the blog you will see that we do get other badgers joining these two from time to time, so it isn't a definite that only two will show. I think the large groups we saw early on, with up to seven badgers, are a feature of having young cubs in the clan and sticking together. As the cubs become independant, the clan resorts to individual foraging again. Even the terrible twosome turn up independently when they both show. I feed the badgers additional food by whistling and throwing half a dozen peanuts out every so often, but eventually stop so they can continue on their natural foraging and they wander off.
Walking back up I hear a badger, or two, in the dry ditch that runs almost down to the hide. As I'm walking up the second field I see the Barn Owl again, flying low and quartering the long grass looking for voles. Within a few seconds, he too disappears into the darkness. All in all, a good night topped off by the Barn Owl, twice!
Monday 7/9/09 - Another late finish....
First day back at school today for the pupils where I work. Usual chaos with lots of forgotten passwords and other problems. Eventually leave work at about seven. By time I'm home, I have less than an hour before going back out to see the badgers. It'll be a pleasant way to unwind after a hectic day.
I take my dad's camera over tonight with a view to getting some more close shots of the badgers. By time I get down towards the hide it's already quite dark. I check the time and it's 20:20. I walk on a bit further and a badger is approaching from my left down an adjoining path. I stop and watch, but he sees, or smells me and, although he doesn't run off, he turns around and heads away from me back in the direction he came from. Onward towards the hide and movement out in the feeding area. A single badger is there already! 20:25. I must get here earlier. This one, too, trots off as I approach and I set the food out as normal. Into the hide and at 20:40 a badger appears down the main path. He works his way towards the hide and is soon within photographing range. I put the camera behind my back and switch it on. It makes a bit of a whirring noise, so I reduce the noise as much as I can. I carefully put the camera out throught the gap in the net and take a shot. I take a quick look at the image and a message says "Memory Full". Odd, I think as I thought there was a lot of space left. Then it dawns on me. I've left the card in the card reader at home! Coming out in a rush is not a good idea!
I now have the two "usual" badgers, I think, feeding close to the hide. I just sit and watch and enjoy. I always find it particularly funny when they start pushing each other in competition for the food. Small grunting sounds usually accompany this pushing match. As the food is now running out, I whistle and throw some more nuts out. They latch onto them fairly quickly and polish them off. I throw some more and accidentally hit one of the badgers with at least one nut. No response. They're not too shy close to the hide, so it seems. Another top up of nuts and I hit the badger whilst he has his back to me. He turns around so quickly, it's amazing. They are not the fastest animals in the world, but turning around they are very quick. It doesn't bother him and he begins eating the nuts I hit him with. I top up the food a couple more times, but let the badgers wander off into the dark and make my way back up to the farm uneventfully, a little less stressed than I was earlier!
I take my dad's camera over tonight with a view to getting some more close shots of the badgers. By time I get down towards the hide it's already quite dark. I check the time and it's 20:20. I walk on a bit further and a badger is approaching from my left down an adjoining path. I stop and watch, but he sees, or smells me and, although he doesn't run off, he turns around and heads away from me back in the direction he came from. Onward towards the hide and movement out in the feeding area. A single badger is there already! 20:25. I must get here earlier. This one, too, trots off as I approach and I set the food out as normal. Into the hide and at 20:40 a badger appears down the main path. He works his way towards the hide and is soon within photographing range. I put the camera behind my back and switch it on. It makes a bit of a whirring noise, so I reduce the noise as much as I can. I carefully put the camera out throught the gap in the net and take a shot. I take a quick look at the image and a message says "Memory Full". Odd, I think as I thought there was a lot of space left. Then it dawns on me. I've left the card in the card reader at home! Coming out in a rush is not a good idea!
I now have the two "usual" badgers, I think, feeding close to the hide. I just sit and watch and enjoy. I always find it particularly funny when they start pushing each other in competition for the food. Small grunting sounds usually accompany this pushing match. As the food is now running out, I whistle and throw some more nuts out. They latch onto them fairly quickly and polish them off. I throw some more and accidentally hit one of the badgers with at least one nut. No response. They're not too shy close to the hide, so it seems. Another top up of nuts and I hit the badger whilst he has his back to me. He turns around so quickly, it's amazing. They are not the fastest animals in the world, but turning around they are very quick. It doesn't bother him and he begins eating the nuts I hit him with. I top up the food a couple more times, but let the badgers wander off into the dark and make my way back up to the farm uneventfully, a little less stressed than I was earlier!
Sunday 6/9/09 - A few hours over at the Barn Owl Centre
This afternoon I decided to go over to the Barn Owl Centre to see what was happening. I turned up and there was a number of visitors in, although the place looked deserted as they were all inside enjoying a flying display of Barn Owls in the indoor flying area. I decide to go straight down to the wild flower meadow to see what bugs and insects are around. It is looking fantastic down there at present. There are lots of bees about and a good collection of caterpillars too. Whilst down there I hear both Green and Greater Spotted woodpeckers. I spend some time looking around and find there are quite a lot of moths feeding on nectar. Not sure what they are but there are quite a few of them. See picture below right. I spend a bit of time down here looking for anything interesting but hear voice coming over the PA in the feeding area. I wander back up and Leighton, the Buzzard, is just about to go on a walk. I tag along and Vince introduces me as "the badger man", which is nice. Karl and Vince take the visitors out and about to show the birds over natural terrain. The visitors enjoy it and so does the bird. Please find another picture below showing the Buzzard in the lovely, natural terrain at the Barn Owl Centre.
After going on the walk I return to the wild flower meadow to take some more pictures and video. I don't find anything new, but just enjoy being in amongst the flowers. After a while I look up to the flying area and Vince has Ron, the Golden Eagle out. He is showing visitors how the training begins and the amount of dedication it requires to get the birds to even do a small jump to the glove. I'm hoping to see the fox about, but he stays well hidden.
I fullly intended to return this evening to feed and watch the badgers, but due to a late dinner, it isn't possible. I do find time to get down there and put the food out, I just don't know what will eat it. Hopefully I'll be there on Monday night to see what is happening.Leighton Buzzard
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
