The last from the badger sett

Sadly this will be the last from the badger sett for a while. I found the following clip on the camera from last week and consider myself very lucky that I had a camera to collect today:


It's a real shame as I had the most badgers in one clip that I have had at the sett, 4, in a nice clip where they were all grooming. They couldn't have lined up better if I had asked them! There was also some more close personal attention for the camera this week, but by the badgers this time:


A Muntjac also decided that the camera needed a clean up:



I returned to the sett today to collect the camera before the group of morons paid a return visit so here are a couple more badger clips and a male Muntjac with a missing antler from last night to finish off with:



Pretty gutted that I have had to remove the camera from the sett, I considered getting a big chain and padlock but suspect cretins like those would probably just smash it if they couldn't have it. I'll have a word with some of the people I know to see if I can find another sett that is a bit less accessible to the public.

Back to the Badger Sett

Last week I finally got around to putting the trail camera back up at the Badger sett and this morning I collected the card and checked out the results. On my first visit a noticed a lot of new earth works around the sett including a new hole out along one of the well used trails. One of the original holes appeared to have collapsed but there was obvious signs of activity around the main holes where I have had the camera before. This time I chose a new part of the sett where there was some fresh sign of digging. The Badger here seems to have taken a shine to the camera!





You will have noticed that I finished off with a short clip of a Fox which stopped briefly as it passed through.

Not sure if this is the best place for the camera, the vegetation cuts down the view a bit, but I'll give it another week and see how it goes. Might try that new hole along the trail next week to see what is happening there.

News from the sett

This last couple of weeks at the Badger sett has seen quite a lot of interest in the camera. The best 2 clips follow:

Recent weeks has seen a lot of charging about by the Badgers. There seems to be a bit of a territorial dispute going on. This last week it turned into a war:

The rats were also present on and off and a Fox, see clip below, made regular visits over the 2 weeks.

Strange Bedfellows

Some more footage from the Badger sett last week and after the first Brown Rat the previous week there were plenty of clips last week with several even going down into the sett. Looks like they may be living side by side with the Badgers!

I moved the camera last week to get a much lower perspective and it worked out really well with one of the Badgers showing some interest in the camera and giving us all a good view while doing so.

There was also another first for the camera when a Bat flew past. Not sure about the species.

And finally those Brown Rats, one coming close to the camera and then a brief shot as one disappears down into the sett.

Grey Squirrel, Rabbit and Fox were also caught on camera last week.

Recent activity from the Badger sett

There hasn't been much going on at the sett in recent weeks but this last week there seems to be an infestation in the sett!

The first part of the video is sound only, a Tawny Owl calls accompanied by Badgers scratching out of shot.

Next up we have a one of the Badgers urinating and then a second comes along and is very interested in the scent.

Then some more scratching and grooming to finish off.

Turn up the sound....


Feeling itchy yet :-)

News from the Badger Sett

There hasn't been much of interest going on recently at the Badger Sett, just the usual comings and goings. Last week, however, a female Muntjac passed through with her fawn in tow.

Back to the badger sett

On return from my holiday I put one of the trail cameras back up at the badger sett, although in a slightly different position. I found another entrance to the sett where there looked to have been some digging so I set the camera up on a nearby tree.

First up a couple of Muntjac pass through, a female with a male in tow. Then later in the week the same or another male Muntjac sniffing the air, possibly trying to find a/the female.

Then some clips of the Badgers, one finds a beetle and snaffles it followed by a bit of a scrap between three Badgers, possibly youngsters.

Aigas 2012: Pine Martin and Roe Deer

More from the Pine Martin Loch hide at Aigas. This time the Pine Martin is the star of the show. The first couple of clips are pretty standard stuff at this hide, although the second one has the Pine Martin having a groom. Later on a couple of Roe Deer pass by in the background, look out for their eye shine. Initially the Pine Martin doesn't seem bothered and continues eating, but then it spots the deer and heads towards them before realising they may be a little big for him. A little later one of the Roe Deer arrives in front of camera and we finish off with a Roe Deer passing through during daylight.




This is a good example of the sort of thing you can see at Aigas. There are now 2 Pine Martin hides, one on site (Loch Side) and the original one (Quarry) a few minutes down the road. Pine Martins and Badgers are visiting both hides most nights although while we were there last week they seemed to be later at the Loch side hide. Visits are arranged for the Quarry hide but the Loch Side hide is available at anytime.

For photography the Quarry Hide seemed to be the better option as the Pine Martins were regularly visiting while the light was still good whereas it was darker by the time they arrived at the Loch Side Hide. This would obviously vary depending on the time of year you are visiting and of course the animals may have other ideas!

Aigas 2012: Badgers at the Loch Hide

Just back from another great week at the Aigas Field Centre in the Highlands of Scotland. I took my Bushnell Trophy Cams with me and the rangers at Aigas were kind enough to let me put them out around the estate. The best results were at the Pine Martin Loch Hide and first up are a couple of clips of the Badgers, which were late night visitors to the hide. The 2 clips here are from consecutive nights, around midnight, early in the week. The Badger food is covered by large rocks to prevent other animals and birds stealing it before the Badgers arrive. These clips show a couple of the techniques the Badgers use to move the rocks, and also their amazing strength.




Stay tuned for more from this camera.

News from the badger sett

The last couple of weeks at the badger sett have been pretty normal stuff. The badgers are backwards and forwards most nights and Muntjac have been regular visitors. In fact this Muntjac looked like it was going down into the sett!

This week at the badger sett

I moved the camera last week. It's still looking over the same area but slightly set back and higher up. I may have to rethink this as the clips are a little dark but it does give a good overview of the sett.

Lots of comings and goings this week at the Badger sett. The following clips show some of the interactions between the badgers, with the final one showing some play fighting.



Not sure whether it was the new camera location making it better able to capture the passing Muntjac, or whether there were just more muntjac around but the following is a selection of the Muntjac clips this week. the second one shows one passing a badger and the third one has a great backing track from a singing Blackcap.



Finally a brief clip of the Roe Deer passing through again.

Worrying time...

I found a Hedgehog, killed by a car, just across the road from my house the other morning. I was concerned that this might be one of the hogs from my garden so I set up the trail camera to check what was going on. When I checked the footage this morning I was pleased to find not just one, but two hogs taking advantage of the meal worms I had put out on the lawn.


You might also spot some extra eye shine in the first clip. I think this is a Wood Mouse taking advantage of the fallen seeds from the bird feeders. I need to move the camera closer to confirm this.

Trophy Cam bags another new species for the site

This undisclosed site in Bedfordshire is really proving to be a great wildlife spot. This week a Roe Deer passed through:


Not much Badger activity recorded this week because the batteries ran out in the camera. There was one Badger about on the first night but no digging or interaction. I have re positioned the camera this week. It still overlooks the same area but it is a little further back and a little higher in a tree. Hoping to get a better overview of any activity, a bit like Stephen Plummer has here.

Badger activity over the past 2 weeks

I had a marathon session yesterday afternoon going through 2 weeks of trail cam footage from the Badger sett. I usually change the card each week but didn't get up there last weekend, I'll try not to miss a week again as I had 350 clips to go through. This was a bit surprising as there have only been just over 100 clips each week recently, but there was more Rabbit activity around the sett these last 2 weeks with a couple of young rabbits showing up regularly. There was also a really busy sett maintenance night on the 28/04 when the Badgers were busy digging out the main holes around the sett. This activity racked up 44, 30 second, clips in just under an hour. Here a couple of clips from that batch:


Still haven't seen more than 3 badgers at any one time and still no cubs :-(

The following clip captured a male Tawny Owl calling. I have increased the volume of the soundtrack but you may still need to increase the volume on your PC to hear it:



Don't forget to turn your PC volume back down again ;-)

Badger sett this week

After a couple of weeks with lots of activity around the sett this week was very quiet. Did get a Muntjac passing through which is the first time since a move the camera.

The main talking point this week was three dogs that were seen around the sett. Two were seen together both were interested in the holes but were too big to worry about them entering. Later in the week a terrier also came through and actually entered one of the holes. I didn't see it come out but assume it disappeared out of frame, before the camera triggered, when it came back out. Hopefully this won't become a regular occurrence. A black cat was also seen around the sett a couple of times and seemed interested in going down one of the holes but decided against it.

Following is three clips from the camera trap this week. First it seems like there was a disturbance around the sett as one of the badgers has just come out then 2 others come crashing through. Second, one of the badgers is seemingly spooked by the camera. Finally a Muntjac moves through the sett in the early hours.

Latest from the Badger sett

Highlight this week was another new species for the site. This time a Brown Hare did a quick circuit of the Badger sett.



Since moving the camera I have not had the variety of wildlife pass by which is a little surprising given the camera is only about 20 yards from the previous position and looks back towards the old position. This week a Fox passed through which made a nice change.



And finally the Badgers. After last week when the badgers seemed to be taking loads of bedding into the sett, this week appeared to be maintenance week with many clips of the Badgers digging out the sett holes. Here are a couple of the digging clips followed by one where a couple of the Badgers indulge in a little mutual grooming.



To highlight the amount of activity around the sett this week the previous 2 weeks the camera captured 18 and 27 Badger clips. This week there were 63 clips! Maximum number of Badgers in a clip still stands at 3, hopefully we'll have a cub or 2 soon.

More from the badgers this week

More badger action from w/c 24/3. Another clip of bedding being taken into the sett. There were no less than 8 bedding clips with bedding being taken down all three holes that are within view of this camera. Another clip shows a bit of aggression between 2 of the badgers and the final clip shows 3 badgers, the highest count I have at this sett so far.

While changing the memory card in the camera this week I heard the first Blackcap of the year on the site. A Chiffchaff was singing again. Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were both heard and Lapwings were displaying in the fields to the north.

Latest from the Badger Sett

I changed the location of the new camera so that it overlooks a well used sett entrance. I could see that this hole was being used as there was quite a bit of fresh excavation work around the entrance and also a trail of bedding material leading up to it.

A couple of the clips show bedding being taken back to the sett, there is also a bit of grooming and one badger appears to come out of the sett, curl up and go to sleep.



The new Bushnell Trophy Cam (119436) seems to be working well. Really like having sound on the clips, caught a Chiffchaff singing on one clip and one of the badger clips (not included here) had the dawn chorus which sounded brilliant.

The timestamp is not so great. I expected date and time visible on the entire clip not just a single frame at the start, so will be turning that off.

Badgers and Fox in the snow this week (W/C 04/02)

Wasn't expecting much from the camera trap this week given the snow and very low temperatures but I was pleasantly surprised.

Badgers were out in the snow several nights, I have put together a few clips covering a couple of nights:


This foxed passed through on the Sunday morning following the heavy snow on Saturday night:


Also had this Muntjac pass through on the Saturday before it snowed:

Camera Trap W/C 22/01/2012

Another new species, on camera, this week, although a little less exciting than some of the previous first timers.
A Grey Squirrel passes through.


A Fox also showed up but was unusually wary of the camera.