Dead Polecat

There was a dead polecat (road casualty) on the B4568 road on the outskirts of Aberhafesp just before the turning to Bwlch-y-Ffridd this afternoon.

Badgers Galore! (Brock's Peanut party!)

Last Friday evening I went badger watching with our very own Montgomeryshire (or mid-Wales) 'badger man' Gareth Morgan from Newtown. I was accompanied by a young woman named Christine Hall who is keen to develop a career in wildlife film making having graduated from university with a degree in TV production. We visited Gareth's badger 'sett' situated on farmland near Newtown which he has been studying closely for 29 years so he knows it very well indeed and of course the badgers that inhabit it. We arrived in good time before dusk and Gareth put a good couple of pounds of peanuts around the most active sett entrance in order to draw the animals out whilst Christine set up her camera about 20 feet away discreetly camouflaged by a stance of nettles. We all waited patiently. At 8.20pm we had what I can only describe as an 'eruption' of badgers as one animal after another appeared out of the entrance hole and each in turn started to gobble up with relish the treat provided for them by Gareth. Christine stood or sat absolutely still her camera rolled capturing the action taking place before her eyes whilst Gareth and I stood a few feet behind her. Gareth gave me a running commentary on the social dynamics of this particular family of badgers. We were able to differentiate between the sexes and the yearling animals and the 'feisty' boar who was obviously in charge! What really excited us most was the appearance of three cubs out of the sett entrance. This was the first time Gareth had seen the cubs this year so it was a special moment for all of us. In total we counted 12 animals all in a little group avidly snapping up the peanuts! I could see from the viewfinder on Christine's camera that she was getting some fantastic live moving footage of the behaviour of these animals. What a privilege this was indeed. Gareth spotted one animal whom he knew well and this was the female or 'sow' badger he had christened 'Tiny' who is about 12 years old. Around us swallows buzzed low over the pasture, a woodpecker called from the great oak tree situated at the sett and a buzzard called nearby. We had earlier seen a downy buzzard chick from a vantage point above the nest. Gareth heard the 'hiss' of a barn owl and the church bell rang out nine bells on the hour. The sett is in an amazing location with two immense ancient oaks towering above it where the animals have excavated their extensive labyrinth of tunnels below the roots. Also here is a fallen thick trunk of a long dead oak tree and on the trunk you can see where the animals had been playing as it had traces of muddy paw prints all over it and scratch marks where they had been cleaning and honing their powerful digging claws or perhaps even 'scenting' by that I mean leaving their distinctive 'clan' scent within the confines of their sett as a territorial marker.
We left the sett at dusk to allow the badgers their privacy and our sudden movements set them scurrying back into the sett. But as we glanced back at the sett from a distance it wasn't long before the animals were out again. They were accustomed to Gareth's voice and his scent because of his regular visits to their subterranean dwelling.
We were all exhilarated by our nights watching of one of Britain's most fascinating and ancient mammals the 'badger' or 'Mochyn Daear' ('Earth Pig' in Welsh), and Christine had a wide smile across her face all the way back to Machynlleth!

Hedgehog, Pontrobert

This little guy caught my eye this morning as he was still out at 7:30am and didn't curl up on my approach!

The nights are so short now and with still so little rain, natural food is not very abundant, that our nocturnal Hedgehogs are struggling to find enough food.

You can help your Hedgehogs at this tough time in a number of ways, but a quick fix would be to provide some food for them. Vine House Farm do an excellent Hedgehog Food which my Hedgehogs love and it also doesn't attract the local moggies.

For more ideas on how to help Hedgehogs, or to find out how you can become a local Hedgehog Champion, check out Hedgehog Street. If you want to help trial a new survey method for these wonderful creatures, then the Mammal Society would love to hear from you!

Hogs don't disappoint

'Noisy' enjoying his food

Just spent a fabulous hour and a half having close encounters of the prickly kind! My back garden truely is the best place to watch Hedgehogs.

Lying only three feet away from the ground feeder, I enjoyed priviledged views of no fewer than five Hedgehogs as they made their way over (more or less) one by one. Each one continued to enjoy the feast whilst I snapped away with my camera and their little personalities shone through.

The first was what Cesar Millan would call 'calm, submissive', walking purposely over to the feeder to calmly enjoy its contents. Suddenly a very bold individual appeared and 'Calm' made a sharp exit! 'Bold' happily ate its fill for three minutes before heading into the night. Barely five minutes later and I was joined by a more cautious hog who initially paused, before heading fully into the light to enjoy the food reward.

'Cautious' exercises discretion when 'Noisy' shows up

It was only three minutes before 'Noisy' appeared (so called because most of the time I spent with him he was grunting away to himself!) and 'Cautious' immediately gave way to him. 'Noisy' clearly had other things on his mind and he quickly chased after 'Cautious'! Courtship ensued only 10 feet away, but it seems that she was unimpressed and soon gave him the slip, at which point his stomach got the better of him and he returned to the feeder! When he had had enough he walked straight over to me, sniffed my hand and then wandered off, perhaps to try his luck with 'Cautious' again!

Nine minutes now went by before a very nervous hog appeared. This poor thing took quite a while to pluck up the courage to fully come into the light and then flinched every time my camera shutter fired. Sadly, my assumption that it would get used to the sound was flawed and after only a minute on the feeder, it slunk away.

At this point, I decided to call it a night and after a moment enjoying the view of Saturn in the clear sky, I headed inside to review my images!

Fox cub, Cors Dyfi

Dyfi Osprey Project staff report that a fox cub has been seen on the reserve around the hide and the centre on three separate occassions this week, day and night.

Neighbourhood watch for Hedgehogs!

From the PTES - "Hedgehogs are instantly recognisable and much loved creatures. All the more distressing then that a new report (The State of Britain’s’ Hedgehogs) provides definitive evidence that their numbers have declined by at least a quarter in the last 10 years – confirming their status as a conservation priority species. This alarming figure has compelled wildlife charities: the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to join forces to launch Hedgehog Street. This initiative aims to empower whole communities, encouraged by volunteer Hedgehog Champions, to take small steps to improve their neighbourhood for hedgehogs in a bid to create a giant patchwork of hedgehog-friendly areas across the British Isles."

So if you want to help Hedgehogs, click here to find out more.

Mad 'erm May hares

Just to prove that boxing hares can be seen outside of February/March, I saw two going 'at it' this afternoon, just outside the village of Pontrobert - fabulous sight!