12th March 07

 Chris and I took a look on Saturday. Had difficulty getting near the sett - we kept tripping over roe deer. We must have seen more than a dozen, some within 40 feet. Even had a quick go at photographing them. Excellent.

But back to the badgers. The site looks ideal. We can set up in at least a couple of positions. At the top of the rise under the rhododendron bushes is probably the best bet - gives a commanding view looking down onto the sett. There is also another nice position at sett level well to the right (looking down) and near to the fence. I put bait down on Saturday, as you saw, in the entrance holes and in several buried locations. I buried the bait to stop birds getting it. When I checked on Sunday, all the burial sites had been trashed - definitely badgers digging up the feed. I also saw a definitive badger track (5 toes in a slight semi-circle). So I am confident there are badgers in the sett. I left some more feed on Sunday.

The thing I like about the sett is it appears that there is little human traffic and has wide, long-distance views looking onto it. Even if we blank with the badgers, there are so many deer, that we're sure to get something good. It's an 18 mile trip for me (each way) and takes about 30 minutes so getting there at the moment before dark is not possible. So I propose to start a full feeding regime once the clocks change (end of this month).

My plan is:

1. To stay off the bluebells. I want these to look as good as possible. I found the best approach to the sett is from the right near the fence along an existing badger track. This way I don't trample the flowers.

2. Put a small straw bale near the sett (next weekend). This will provide easy bedding for the badgers - otherwise they will tear up the bluebells for bedding.

3. Dig out and level an area for us to sit under the rhododendrons. The ground there is sloping so I'll try and create a flat area this weekend. I will hide the digging by covering with leaves. I don't intend to use a hide - just camo and netting.

4. Probably just feed at weekends until the clocks change. Then I'll start feeding every night after work.

5. I'll leave the sett after feeding. I won't hang around to watch (or photograph) until after the badgers have been fed regularly for about 2-4 weeks.

6. I'll try the camera after a minimum of 2 weeks of regular feeding. Once they get used to the cameras, hopefully we can all start to shoot. I guess photography won't start until about mid to late April. The bluebells should be starting to look good.

7. I hope to get most of my photos in daylight. I'm a bit concerned that rigging up lights might attract attention from the road and the white house across the field. Flash shots always look inferior to day-lit shots anyway. But we'll play this by ear I guess. I'm really looking forward to this project - Badgers are magic animals to watch. I'm thinking of starting a photographic journal of the project on my website as well. Roll on spring.... Cheers, Dean

PS
I won't be placing feed into the bluebell areas until we start photographing because the badgers will tend to damage the flowers. I'll feed them around the sett and away to left and right but not up the hill until we are ready to photograph. Anything else I've forgotten, please shout. Dean

 12th March 07

I don’t know about you guys, but when I photograph a subject I like to do a bit of research. You may be interested in the following link:

http://www.badgerecology.org/

The sections on Reproduction and Population dynamics, habitat, and Diet are particularly interesting.

3rd April 07

I went to the sett on Friday night after work and put some straw and feed down. On Saturday, all the feed had been taken but the straw wasn't touched. I stayed both days until after dark and used a night scope but didn't see any badgers. However, I'm still convinced that they are there. I did see a lot of deer on Friday night and Saturday including some 7 roe (3 bucks/ 3 does / 1 yearling) and 3 fallow. One of the fallow was completely white - thought it was a sheep at first. Absolutely pure white. All the deer came into the grassy valley across from the sett just before dusk. I tried photographing the deer on Saturday afternoon and got about a hundred shots with the roe coming to within 30 feet of me. I was hidden down by the fence line well away from the sett. So even if we luck out with the badgers, the deer should keep us plenty busy. I'll try and put some photos up on my web site soon. Regards, Dean

 

25th April 07

Just to let you know what's happening.

At long last the clocks have changed and I've been able to get to the sett more regularly. I am now trying to feed most nights. The straw I put down has all been dragged into 3 sett holes - you can see trails. So there are at least 3 holes in use. The earth around those holes shows a lot more digging activity as well so they are definitely in use. A fourth hole well to the right (looking down) of the main sett is not being used.

I have spent 5 nights so far staying for about 30 - 60 minutes after dark and I have yet to see a badger with my night scope. Another sett (where the photos on my website were taken) is regularly reporting the badgers out and about by 7.45 pm. I have been staying until about 8.30 -9pm and still haven't seen the badgers. This is more than likely because they know I am there but don't yet trust me. I will persevere...

I also found a badger latrine along a path away from the sett towards the fenced-off area. It was, umm, er, fresh! So that's a good sign too. Thankfully, the bluebells are not in bloom yet - probably another week or 2. After my initial success with the deer, I haven't seen one since. This is because of the wind - it has been blowing from the east and so it is on my back as I approach the sett area. When it blows from the west (which I think is the prevailing direction), it is on my face during the approach so no problem. One night we had a glorious sunset and the very last light falls directly on the sett and hill area where we will be photographing so I am really optimistic that when the weather and badgers perform together we'll have a *really* photogenic site.