Badgers
There are now eight Badgers in the family, with one of them being a cub that is almost adult sized. The cub has a slimmer face and the tail has a sharper, curved angle to it. One night the cub was the second individual to come in and was busy sniffing around the platform looking for peanuts, when I was trying to point out its features to the guests it was initially facing the wrong way. Then eventually it did turn its back and the guests were able to contrast its tail’s appearance with that of the adults.
On another night one came and fed before the others and when it left, the rest of the family group came in. It was quite enthralling for the guests to see at least four together and one used its paw to tip over a log with peanuts hidden under it, which the guests found amusing. The way they all milled together, as they foraged was breathtaking - then one by one they started to leave. A brilliant way to end an evening and one that never gets old. It more than made up for there being no Pine Martens or Scottish Wildcat that night.
Pine Martens
A major development has taken place with the Pine Martens. There are now four Pine Martens that can be seen at the hide - the resident female, which has been a feature for a few years now was seen with two kits which seem to becoming regular visitors to the hide. One night, one of the grown-up kits, which I believe to be a male owing to its larger size, came to the platform. Then its mother came to join it. The male kit, unlike its father, had a single spot on its bib like its mother’s pattern -its father has a pattern of three spots together. The other kit I believe to be a female and also has its mother’s single spot bib pattern but that wasn’t seen that night.
As they were feeding, an unprecedented third Pine Marten showed up between the two Lawson’s Cypresses. I caught a glimpse of it and it seemed to be the resident male, their father. Or one that looked similar. Kits have the potential to be sired by more than one male, but whichever individual this was, something unusual happened. The male kit seemed to go into hiding and the female was chased up the trees by the male and a frantic series of squeaks and even growls could be heard from the treetops. After not seeing them for a period both individuals minus the male returned to feed on the platform and left after a while, providing an exceptional evening for all.
On another night I was able to establish something important. The female that had been coming in and feeding next to the male pine marten kit was actually its sibling. So it turns out our resident female had a male and female kit. The confusion came from the female kit having its mother's spot pattern except the single spot is higher up the throat than its mother's.
Scottish Wildcat
Our local Wildcat continues to put in a regular appearance and one that is the most desired by our guests. One night, I told the guests that I was going to check the garden for the Wildcat. The evening had not long started but because nothing was showing, I thought it best, whilst we had the light to have a go at it.
I left them there and went into the garden. Then to my amazement I saw it crouched in the grass as if trying to hide. I brought everyone to it and we all enjoyed it at a respectable distance. Then on a different night I checked all the places that I’d seen it before without success. Then as I was walking round one of the wooden sheds, I came across it suddenly. It stared back, as surprised to see me as I was it. I wasted no time. I went back to the hide to summon the guests. To my relief it hadn’t moved its position and we spread out to admire it. Then after a while it did something I hadn’t seen it do before. At first, I thought it was going to vanish into the nettles, then it climbed onto a stack of brick slabs and sat comfortably atop them. It did shift its position after a while to sit on another set of slabs and we had to move accordingly. It gave me an idea and one I wish I’d thought of before. Mindful of the midges that were attracted to us I went to grab my scope. To my relief, it had stayed put and each of the guests got to look at the Scottish Wildcat through the scope where its face filled the view. You couldn’t ask for better views than that. Then as it got darker and began to rain, we left the Wildcat to sit there and returned to the hide where we finished with Badgers and a Pine Marten.
Other Wildlife
There are Wood Mice that dash around the platform looking for peanuts, as do the occasional Bank Voles. Roe Deer have sometimes been seen under the Juniper bushes in the fields beyond and Woodpigeons are often the first things to be seen at the hide as they gorge themselves on the food before the Badgers and Pine Martens have had a chance to touch it.
If you would like a chance to see our nocturnal visitors go to: http://bit.ly/sw_EWW to book your place.
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