What's making these little holes in the ground?

[Foogs]

Walking in the woods in Wiltshire, lots of these little excavations along the path.
We thought maybe squirrels looking for their nuts, but some of them are quite large and have move quite a lot of dirt.

Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Nic Le Becheur]

Rabbits will make little exploratory digs, and squirrels will, as you say, dig out buried nuts - but if the holes are round and go down some distance, then it's likelier to be bank voles. Hard to be certain from the pics, but looks most like rabbits to me.

 

[GNJC]

Walking in the woods in Wiltshire, lots of these little excavations along the path.
We thought maybe squirrels looking for their nuts, but some of them are quite large and have move quite a lot of dirt.

Can anyone enlighten me?


View attachment 84624View attachment 84625

Could be rabbits, or even a squirrel. However, that nearest hole looks to have some crap in it (the dark stuff), and that would most probably mean a badger. But... they usually leave more than appears to be in that hole.

Easiest way to tell if it's badger crap is to get a dog near it, if the dog can't get enough of it and desperately wants to eat it and roll in it, you'll know it's from a badger...

 

[C_Claycomb]

My money is on badger. It all looks pretty fresh, looking like it was all done at the same time. Unusual for rabbits to do that many test scrapes in such a small space, all at the same time, and the ground is pretty tough looking. That one has hit a root and tried to keep going. Could be poop pits, but they could also have been foraging. The badgers in the wood near my folks dig lots of holes just like those in the over-grown hardcore paths looking for beetles and such.

 

[John Fenna]

Much like the Badger activity in the woods I visit.

 

[Foogs]

My money is on badger. It all looks pretty fresh, looking like it was all done at the same time. Unusual for rabbits to do that many test scrapes in such a small space, all at the same time, and the ground is pretty tough looking. That one has hit a root and tried to keep going. Could be poop pits, but they could also have been foraging. The badgers in the wood near my folks dig lots of holes just like those in the over-grown hardcore paths looking for beetles and such.

This makes sense, there are definitely some badger setts in the vicinity.

 

[Nice65]

Could be rabbits, or even a squirrel. However, that nearest hole looks to have some crap in it (the dark stuff), and that would most probably mean a badger. But... they usually leave more than appears to be in that hole.

Easiest way to tell if it's badger crap is to get a dog near it, if the dog can't get enough of it and desperately wants to eat it and roll in it, you'll know it's from a badger...

That looks more like a couple of the little black stones that are scattered about on the ground.

 

[GNJC]

That looks more like a couple of the little black stones that are scattered about on the ground.

Roughage...