Gotta tell you about this evening as there is only you lot, my girlfriend and my mother that can appreciate what went on.
I was going out to meet my friends at the Whittington Pub at 7:30 to 8:00 this evening. Anyway at about 6 two people had cancelled and that left me and a crazy person, and my gf is in London, so I also cancelled. I got bored and watched the Apprentice on TV and then at the spur of the moment decided to see if the local foxes and cubs that I'd been watching since the end of March were about. Pretty unenthusiastic about it, I just took my torch and phone. Anyway it was a beautiful evening and plenty of rabbits as usual. But no foxes at all.
This is a panorama of my favourite place at the edge of the woods, with badger setts all around me.
I thought that the foxes might have moved on to a different area as I'd seen no fresh sign. It was dusk and looking like they weren't going to show up when I heard typical badger noise going on to my left. Saw a big male badger by the tree disappear into the field and then nothing. Soon after the vixen trotted passed along the field edge and sniffed where the rabbits had been, then went into the woods.......... nothing. About five to ten minutes later after that MASSIVE noises to my left and a big badger came across the path on the bottom of the slope and started sniffing around. As you can see from the pics (with flash) he was only about 2ft away, and he was huge!!! Took three pics which confused him cos of the flash, and he decided to investigate.
He came up the slope, sniffed my trousers right up to my finger tips (his nose was wet and cold), then he turned around and went into that old hole at the base of the tree.
Two minutes after, a large female (sow) came from the right-hand path and snuffled with him for a couple of seconds (she's the one that's looking directly at me in the shot).
I only had my crappy going out phone which has a ****ty camera. So you can see in the pics how close they were. Wasn't planning on going out so had jeans and bright top an d aftershave on. It was amazing. On the way back after they'd gone mooching, I saw three fox cubs along the path, and an adult, possibly the vixen again. Glad I never met my mates, this was something special.
Just wish I'd of had my other phone and a decent camera. The panorama shot is what I was looking out onto from the edge of the woods about two minutes walk from my house. It's my favourite spot in the world, and there is a big badgers set there that is over 500 years old. I've watched stoats, weasels, hedgehogs, bats, foxes and many birds and animals go about their business from this spot. I love it. Had a 58 pat bottle of cider with me too..... what an evening
I was going out to meet my friends at the Whittington Pub at 7:30 to 8:00 this evening. Anyway at about 6 two people had cancelled and that left me and a crazy person, and my gf is in London, so I also cancelled. I got bored and watched the Apprentice on TV and then at the spur of the moment decided to see if the local foxes and cubs that I'd been watching since the end of March were about. Pretty unenthusiastic about it, I just took my torch and phone. Anyway it was a beautiful evening and plenty of rabbits as usual. But no foxes at all.
This is a panorama of my favourite place at the edge of the woods, with badger setts all around me.
I thought that the foxes might have moved on to a different area as I'd seen no fresh sign. It was dusk and looking like they weren't going to show up when I heard typical badger noise going on to my left. Saw a big male badger by the tree disappear into the field and then nothing. Soon after the vixen trotted passed along the field edge and sniffed where the rabbits had been, then went into the woods.......... nothing. About five to ten minutes later after that MASSIVE noises to my left and a big badger came across the path on the bottom of the slope and started sniffing around. As you can see from the pics (with flash) he was only about 2ft away, and he was huge!!! Took three pics which confused him cos of the flash, and he decided to investigate.
He came up the slope, sniffed my trousers right up to my finger tips (his nose was wet and cold), then he turned around and went into that old hole at the base of the tree.
Two minutes after, a large female (sow) came from the right-hand path and snuffled with him for a couple of seconds (she's the one that's looking directly at me in the shot).
I only had my crappy going out phone which has a ****ty camera. So you can see in the pics how close they were. Wasn't planning on going out so had jeans and bright top an d aftershave on. It was amazing. On the way back after they'd gone mooching, I saw three fox cubs along the path, and an adult, possibly the vixen again. Glad I never met my mates, this was something special.
Just wish I'd of had my other phone and a decent camera. The panorama shot is what I was looking out onto from the edge of the woods about two minutes walk from my house. It's my favourite spot in the world, and there is a big badgers set there that is over 500 years old. I've watched stoats, weasels, hedgehogs, bats, foxes and many birds and animals go about their business from this spot. I love it. Had a 58 pat bottle of cider with me too..... what an evening
