An interesting time all round at the wildlife hide the past couple of weeks. With very light, warm evenings and darkness falling around midnight the animals too have been coming in later, making us play a waiting game.
Hungry Badger (Kate Mennie)
With the ‘regular’ Badgers making an appearance, our Badger cub has also been in most evenings becoming more independent and coming close into the viewing areas. She is also growing and for only being around three months old, certainly knows her way round the feeding areas. As guests sit in anticipation for the arrival of a Badger, they get a feeling of excitement when they see a black and white striped face peering up at them through the long grass. This excitement can cause happy squeals of “there’s a Badger!”
Tawny Owl (Simon Eaves)
With long anxious minutes in the hide as it gets dark, dusk can also be a great time to see our other visitors. The Tawny Owl has certainly been active this week as it camouflages itself against the trunks of the trees, occasionally swooping close to the ground in search of prey.
The past two weeks has seen higher activity from the female Pine Marten, with the noise of squeaks and cry’s coming from a nearby bush as the female arrived at the table one evening. Could it be a kit? A brief sighting of something following the female as she ran off confirmed a Kit sighting, showing to be a little nervous of its first adventure into the wide world. More strange activity came a week later when she tried to approach the hide with the kit and a female Badger chased them off!
Pine Marten Kit and Mother on Trailcam
At last a confirmed sighting and footage of the Pine Marten Kit was captured on our night camera, with fantastic footage as it practises the art of climbing and acrobatic skills.
Head over the our social media pages for footage and for your chance to visit the hide, click here.
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