I took the new Bushnell Binoculars for a walk today , along with my trailcam…. thinking I might like to be the UK face of Bushnell UK!!!..
The walk turned out to be much productive than I could have imagined……
First, I found a wasp nest that had been dug out of the hedge… some claw marks indicated that this nest had been a lucky find for a hungry badger. With the ground so hard and dry up until recently, a wasp nest with grubs would have been a nutritious meal.
A couple of days ago, I had noticed a very clear path from the fields, down onto the lane, and then back up the other side. The track was wide and looked well used and I believe it could be badgers. I wanted to set one of the Bushnells up on this track to capture what was travelling through here. I climbed up into the field, which is several feet above the lane and positioned the Bushnell in the hedge, facing down the track. I hope it will capture some video clips tonight and I will collect it in the morning.
Standing up in this field, I could see a small wooded area,a couple of fields away. I thought that it was worth a look… and boy, was I pleased that I did! This is only a small area, surrounded by arable fields. In a slight dip, it has banked sides. A mixture of broad-leaved trees, I got a good vibe the minute I entered. Waking through, the banked areas caught my eye as they had no vegetation on at all. It was then I spotted the holes… lots of them! I had found a huge badger sett!
I was delighted and as I started to look round, I found more and more sett entrances, all criss-crossed with well worn paths, clear in the mud after the recent rain we have had here. This is an ancient sett and very well used by the looks of things. At this point, I did not have the Bushnells with me, but I will return tomorrow to set them up… there is SO much scope in this small area, I am going to be spoilt for choice of where to put them and I am confident I should be able to get some excellent footage. I have decided to call this site, ‘Badger Bank’.
The excitement was tinged with sadness when I came across a sad sight. Between two of the main sett areas, up on the bank amongst somev vegetation, was a dead badger. Seemingly unmarked, I have no idea what happened to this animal. I could see no marks on it and it looked in good condition. From the look and feel of the body, I would say it had been dead for no more than 24 hours. I have never been that close to a badger and I spent some time just looking at it.
This site has great hide potential, so I am going to find out who owns the land and see if I can set up some kind of temporary hide there. I think it would be worth it. I will see what kind of footage I get with the Bushnells.
Heading out of the area and across the fields, I came across another corpse… this time a fox. This one had been dead somewhat longer!
The hedgerows on my walk across the fields, gave me lots of opportunity to test out the Bushnell Excursion EX binoculars I have been lent and I am impressed so far. There were loads of yellow hammers calling and flitting about in the trees and hedges. I will be using these binos over the coming weeks and reviewing them in more detail on my website.
As I write this blog tonight, the tawny is calling loudly in the trees beyond my office… I am going to put a new, different tawny box up this winter, as my dream is to get a tawny nesting in one of my boxes and to be able to live stream that next spring.
Tomorrow, I will collect the Bushnell and set it up at ‘Badger Bank’ tomorrow… so watch this space for my first footage from the area!
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