Ideally situated right at the edge of a beautiful wood, the sett opened out onto a gently sloping hill. Facing west, this meant that the light stayed on the sett until sunset. Continuing eastwards up the hill, you enter the wood proper. Though the bluebells weren't out when I took the picture, you can see the green patch (top right) where they were just starting to grow.

I had about a month before the flowers would be in bloom so I travelled most nights after work to feed and watch the site. You can make out the straw that I put down for bedding in the centre of the picture. This was dragged into the sett within a day or 2 and, I hoped, indicated that the sett contained cubs. The food I placed down was always gone by the following night.

This wasn't a project that I had entered into lightly. The site is over an hours drive by round trip and I was determined to visit it most nights until the badgers became accustomed to me. I was also very concerned not to cause disturbance to the animals or to attract unwanted attention to the site by others. I observed the sett most nights after feeding until well after dark. For this I've got an ex-military night-sight which allows me to see in the dark - great fun. One night I watched a fox slowly stalking through the wood looking for food and it passed within 50 feet of me and never knew I was there. Unfortunately, I can't take photos using the night-sight so any shots taken after dark require flash. However, I was hopeful that, given time, I would be able to get the badgers during daylight hours.

Compiled June 2007