Badgers
The Badgers continue to come to the hide every night, the time of which varies, but one night a male Badger came before I’d even put the bait out. But the most exciting news relating to the Badgers began one night at the beginning of July. The appearance of cubs is always a highlight of the year relating to the Badgers. When I first started two years ago in 2022, they came at the end of June, and in 2023 one came at the beginning of July.
This year, one also came at the beginning of July and it took a while for me to recognise that it was a cub because it lacked the fresh faced look of cubs I’d known before. It was almost adult-sized but could be discerned by a subtle difference in its nose. It looked shorter, stouter than those of the adults roundabout it. Cubs that I’ve known before have sometimes been hyperactive and have engaged in irritating behaviours for the adults, however this one appears well behaved and could easily be mistaken for an adult.
Pine Martens
The Pine Martens also have exciting information regarding breeding. For the first time at our new hide location, I saw the female bring two adult-sized kits to the hide - they seemed playful and stuck close to their mother. When I got a look at the bib of one of the first, they showed their mother’s pattern: one spot on the centre of the bib. The other had its father’s pattern: three spots in the middle.
On another night it came up from the bottom of the two Lawson’s Cypresses in the middle of the hide, the route normally favoured by the male and settled down to feed in front of the guests. Then, after squatting to mark the spot as its territory, it ran along the log bridge and descended the twin Lawson’s Cypresses.
Scottish Wildcat
We have had some very good sightings of the Scottish Wildcat of late. One night it appeared on the camera that covers the right-hand side of the hide, a place that it sometimes appears when it hugs the wall of the hide in an effort not to be seen. This time however, it came into the open and paused and went down the left-hand path and into the garden. On this occasion, we went out into the garden to see it better and we all enjoyed amazing views of the Wildcat. It had initially stopped in front of the thicket of Lawson’s Cypresses and stared in our direction as if regarding us. Then after a while it started to move through the garden and then went through a hole in the fence, possibly on its way to go hunting.
On another night it appeared while I was taking a walk round the garden to check if it was there. That night I decided to walk round it twice and then just as I was about to give up, I saw it on the front porch of the house and quickly summoned everyone from the hide to watch it, where it was very obliging and even stood up against one of the pillars as if stretching itself. It’s testament to the reintroduction programme, that a Scottish Wildcat is now a realistic prospect and it’s not impossible to see Badger, Pine Marten and Scottish Wildcat in one evening!
Other Wildlife
Wood Mice and Bank Voles have been showing well and there are also Red and Roe Deer in the fields below. Blackbirds and Woodpigeons have cheekily helped themselves to the peanuts and sultanas once they’ve been laid out. Woodcocks continue to rode overhead and are a feature of the evening. One night I had the most unexpected thing come to the hide - we’re used to having Robins visit the hide even when the light is almost gone, but on this occasion a male Common Redstart appeared, but disappeared very quickly. A bizarre thing to have just as it’s getting dark and the most memorable bird at the hide to date.
If you would like to attend our Evening Wildlife Watching Hide go to: http://bit.ly/sw_EWW to book your place.
If you would like to find out more information about the Saving Wildcats project in the Cairngorms please click here https://savingwildcats.org.uk/
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