Just a hint of badger sign (pic heavy)

[Staghound]

Our house backs on to about about four acres of hazel coppice and larch woodland which is basically one huge badger sett. Somebody here was asking recently how you could tell if there were badgers about so I thought I'd post some pics of typical sign.

First up a couple of shots of part of the sett,

Badger holes are often wider than they are high and typically have large piles of dug soil by the entrance.

This hole shows old bedding material that has been dragged out and spread about.

Thay tend to use the same routes to move around their home patch and will wear very distinct "roads" through the woods.

Nice clear scratch marks where they have been sharpening their claws on a tree trunk

And finally the obligatory latrine. There are usually loads of these pits around the edge of the sett.

 

[Nicolas]

ha hint is good

Man I would kill for what you ahve found, one if my "goals" for this year is to see a badger (don't laugh I have neve seen one)
God lord they seem to be some busy little feckers in your pictures.

 

[Staghound]

Hi Nicolas, I think it was your post I saw saying that you were hoping to see badger that prompted me to post these. Just to make you more jealous the nearest holes are only about 30m from our house and I quite often see them about, usually just as it's getting dark.

 

[SimonM]

Sadly, I've seen quite a few dead ones on the side of the road this year. Lovely creatures to see in the wild tho, you are lucky to have that so close to home.

Simon

 

[tommy the cat]

I have recently found (well tipped off thanks Falcon) about a sett and will prob be there later tonight.
Some questions for peeps (sorry for hijack) Does white light bother badgers?
I seem to remember that maybe they think its the moon? If it doesn't bother them can it be pretty bright?
How far are latrines away from the sett?
I have found some latrines in another area so presume a sett is near by?
My main worry is disturbing the badgers necessarily.
Ta Dave

 

[h2o]

I know of quite a few setts,But i have yet to see a live badger im thinking of waiting down wind at 1 of the setts but im gonna borrow a decent camera 1st.

 

[Staghound]

Don't know about the white light thing, as far as I know badgers are supposed to have poor eyesight but good senses of smell and hearing so the most important things are to stay down wind and as quiet as possible.

The latrines I've found have always been pretty close to the sett.

Steve

 

[tommy the cat]

Thought that was the case with latrines.....might have to have a good look see for a sett.
I take it badgers are the most likely animal to leave a sign like a latrine?
I think I saw Johny Kingdom using a lamp to light up the badgers with the view that they thought it was the moon.Got the camcorder charged.
D

 

[maverick moocher]

I had some success earlier this year using a torch at a badger watch, If you can keep it fairly high up, say at arms length and pressed against a tree to keep it still. Turn on the torch with your other hand over the lens, slowly slide your hand away to replicate the moon coming out from behind a cloud and hey presto moonlit badgers!!
On latrines, sure some are close to the sett and others help to form territorial boundry markers away from the sett.

Steve

 

[JonnyP]

Thought that was the case with latrines.....might have to have a good look see for a sett.
I take it badgers are the most likely animal to leave a sign like a latrine?
I think I saw Johny Kingdom using a lamp to light up the badgers with the view that they thought it was the moon.Got the camcorder charged.
D

Badgers are not bothered by lights...
I was only 10 foot away from the badger when I filmed this.. I had a torch in one hand and the cam in the other...



He didn't like it when I dropped the lense cap though...

 

[Barn Owl]

Latrines can be found anywhere really,I've had them on footpaths.

Watched one the other day c. 10m away just after six in the evening,not for the first time I've had them out early.

Maybe it's because that area is in a gorge and it seems like dusk earlier?

Get a lot of roadkill here too and more Otter of late.

If you do see roadkill and can have a look,bear in mind that 'baiters' often dispose of the poor Brock by the road to disguise their horrible activities.

If it looks sus' inform the Police.

Ta,

Tom.

 

[Pablo]

Does white light bother badgers?
I seem to remember that maybe they think its the moon? If it doesn't bother them can it be pretty bright?
How far are latrines away from the sett?

As Maverick says, a torch doesn't bother them at all nor does a flash from a camera. They probably think that it's lightening.

The real trick is keeping completely silent and still. You might also want to conceal your shape. Like most mammals, they've not too good at seeing detail but they can detect movement and they can recognise a human shape so stand side on, lay down or get behind a tree or perhaps get a srim net around you.

Watch out for wind direction as well.

By the way, those pics are about as typical and perfect badger sett pics you can ever get. All the signs are there.

Cheers,

Pablo.

 

[Staghound]

By the way, those pics are about as typical and perfect badger sett pics you can ever get. All the signs are there.


Pablo.

Cheers, the only other thing I looked for but couldn't find were some nice, clear paw prints.

 

[tommy the cat]

Great thread! The last time I posted about badgers and deer had very little response.
Will go to the set again with a torch to try to get some footage.
Peanuts for 'bait'?
Dave

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Great tips. We, some children I teach, were lucky enough to see a badger at a sett entrance on a Night Walk around a local country park. The kids, 13yrs old, were amazed and buzzed about it for weeks. There are lots of setts near me, nearly always on banks, well drained and sandyish soil.

We were MTB night riding at 6pm last september, not dark, and we had to slow down for four tanking along the trail.

 

[bear knights]

you can use peanuts for bait. have used it in past when i've done home range and territory studies on badgers. mix up some peanuts and syrup and place in front of the sett. ( I normally place under a rock so they have to work at it). If you wanted to look at how far the members of that particular sett travel, and you don't mind poking around in latrines, then you can also add fennel or sesame seeds to the mix. passes straight through gut undigested so if on a further walk you come across a latrine with fennel seeds in the poop you know its your guys.
if you don't want to know territory etc then no need for baiting. they'll come out eventually in their own good time and fresh digging, latrines, and distinctive musky smell are sign enough that the sett is in use.

 

[tommy the cat]

Thanks Bear nights just seem to keep finding latrines in various places and wondered how far the sett may be from the latrine. I'm being greedy as I already have on sett to watch!
Good tip with fennel seeds great to get such good information......what you like with deer tracks signs......?????? Sure I got a few more questions....Dave

 

[bear knights]

hmm yep deer tracks ok. better when actually seeing them than photos but bring on the questions!!

 

[Nyayo]

Managed to trail some badgers to a local set last week, and dog and I watched some old silverback digging out his nest. Dog is getting very good and just sat and quivered slightly, but made no noise! Very zen - quietly watching wildlife at close range in a rhodedendron jungle, in very soft rain at dusk. Question: are badgers nocturnal or crepuscular??

 

[Rhoda]

I think generally crepuscular, I have certainly seen them at twilight myself.