h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

LAST NIGHT well, almost

At 11pm I did a last check on the garden, and it was beautiful! The sky was clear, with ribbons of fluffy cloud, tinged pink on the horizon from distant street lights,an almost full moon was shining and aeroplane lights were winking on their way.

Huge black silhouettes of an oak tree and various conifers made a beautiful contrast to the pretty sky, and an Owl was hooting. My eyes dropped down to our lawn, the moon shining in strips across the lawn, and there toddling up the garden was my little friend, closely followed by Ferdie

As brock 1 and 2 had apparently been earlier in the evening, it must have known there was no food left, but he had a scout round just in case. Perhaps he knew about scorpio_'s suggestion that I put more food out later, say 1.30am. AS IF I may be daft, but I'm not THAT daft. Badger has to know who is boss, and it isn't him, except outside in the garden!

He stayed for about half an hour, then wandered off down the the garden, with Foxie away in front of him. It really was and I was reluctant to be away to my bed. If I had been able to sit down and watch, I think I would have stayed. There were lots of holes this morning

Nothing happening at the moment. Back later if I can

Websailor

Hi, Kat

Sorry I forgot to answer your question: <>

November the 5th is Guy Faulkes Night here in the UK, and it used to mean fireworks for about a week from the end of October to just after 5th Nov., but more and more celebrations are marked with fireworks now, and as they are still freely available in spite of new laws, they are being set off almost daily as soon as the evenings get dark!

New laws have reduced the number of incidences as it was becoming a nightmare, and the bangs are not as huge, but it is still very frightening for many animals.

Look up why we "celebrate" Guy Faulkes on Google if you are not aware of the history. Some of us think he should have done a better job - . Only joking, I think

Thanks for good wishes. Yes, I am feeling better now than you.


Hope you are OK these days.

Websailor

I wish he hadn't failed(Guy Fawkes)that is.


round here, every now again during the night, big bang goes off(firework banger), its the local drug dealers letting the druggies know a shipment has arrived

Hi WS!

Looks like there's definitely three then? - if the little man is going hungry 'cos he can't get up early enough, perhaps we should consider clubbing together for one of those feeders that work on a timer. Brocks 1 and 2 can have their supper/breakfast; and then the lid moves around to the next section ready for when badger number 3 gets his act together.

Await next installment - I keep nipping back to My Pictures to look at them.

Scorpio

It's that woman again!

WS I looked on the CJ Wildbird Food's website today; but so far I haven't found the right book section. However, I got distracted - as you do - with a section on webcams. I trundled through various pages until I arrived at an item about badger watching. (Will go back to CJ later.) The following two links (if it works for anyone interested) are cameras at a place called Denbury Farm, which I think is in somerset. They use CJ's food for their resident brocks apparently, I've been watching badgers feeding with foxes as though they are quite used to being together. It may give you some ideas WS or answer some questions perhaps; about behaviour etc. Let me know what you think, if you either get chance/time or if you're not interested, no matter.

http://www.thewebbroadcastingcorporation.com/denburyfarm_cam1.php
and as above but cam2.php

Again mine doesn't come out a pretty blue with underscoring - wonder why this time? will let you know when I've figured it out.

Will drop by again later for a progress update on the most important badgers - yours - or should I dare to say ours?

LAST NIGHT

RL has kept me very busy today, but I think the Brocks will be pleased with the results of my lawn cutting. The only problem is the holes will show up more

Last night was exceedingly quiet. "Nothing stirred not even a mouse" or words to that effect

It was 11pm before a fox appeared, followed minutes later by brock. He came straight to the table and eventually tipped it over, to lie eating contentedly for half an hour He certainly believes in digesting his food well, and not missing a scrap.

He did keep looking towards the bottom of the garden, head in air and sniffing, the each time he carried on eating. He could obviously hear something

After clearing the table, and the bits and pieces on the floor he moved up to the patio, and removed the top off the dish. Again he kept interrupting his meal to sniff and listen, but nothing appeared, the fox having long since gone. It was Midnight before he decided to move on, during which time there was nothing moving at all, except the moon. Not as nice as the night before but still nice to see.

Today has been so warm I was cutting the lawn in leggings and t-shirt and was too warm even then. Unfortunately that means slugs tonight

THIS EVENING..... SAT. 15th Oct.

Fireworks are increasing now. Several have gone off at intervals tonight. things. Never mind the noise, what about the litter and the chemicals. There are some beauties used to produce the colours, never mind the bangs.

We had a visit from a fox at about 8pm and it appeared to be limping, though not too badly. Perhaps he had a thorn in his foot. We will keep a lookout, but can do nothing at present. No sign yet of any other activity. I do hope Brock likes the newly manicured lawn. They apparently like short cut turf - to roll back more easily, no doubt

Any developments before bedtime and I will come back to you.


Websailor

might be of some use ??

http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/wcam1.htm

Hi WS!

Have heard about 'How to be a bad birdwatcher' I was wondering about getting one for myself. There is also another one by the same author (Simon Barnes) called A Bad Birdwatcher's Companion. We'll have to see which is the best/most humerous and compare notes.

Although in previous years, I have always loved bonfire night, I'm also getting pretty pigged off with the fireworks now. Perhaps as I get older, I look at things more from a wildlife point of view; and want to go neck the morons who let the darned things off.

PROF! will have a look at your link in a minute - see you all later I hope

I agree with the fireworks, its about time they were confined to the history books, bonfires, you have to take care, due to possible hedgehogs starting to bed down for winter

Prof: Yes I agree about the bonfires; we haven't had one in over twenty years. I generally enjoy bonfire night, but it should be confined to organised (by the Fire Brigade) ones only, and not in people's gardens, where wildlife is more at risk.

I suppose that I should be condemned for enjoying the fireworks. However, I suppose I'm lucky with my pets - the cat has never been outside in 14 years; and the dog isn't phased by any kind of noise at all - perhaps its because I love thunderstorms and took him out in them as a pup. He is now 'bomb proof' and if fireworks go off nearby he doesn't turn a hair, except to look to see if I'm ok.

Take care

Wonder what our little men are up to now?

Scorpio, we used to have a golden lab and bonfire night, he went mad if we did not let him come in to the yard(on lead) and watch the fireworks, I also love thunderstorms, but here we don't get many good ones, my mam used to say to her friends, any storm with lightning and he goes out and stands in it for a better view..great being

Hi, Everyone,

I love thunderstorms too, and part of me loves the fireworks , but they have got out of hand now. Having seen my friend's dog absolutely petrified, and one or two very elderly friends even more petrifiied (shades of WWII) I have revised my opinion. Thanks for the link Prof. I campaigned with many friends to get the law changed. Will have a look later.

LAST NIGHT

The badger has found his watch again Last night he appeared at precisely 10.40pm! Now that would suit us fine. He came up to the table, tipped it over and began eating. A few minutes later, Badger no. 2 appeared, heading straight up the garden

It got half way up, almost to the other badger and a train shot through, faster than usual, and he legged it down the garden at high speed, frightening off a fox in the process. We thought he wouldn't come back, but a few seconds later, he re-appeared He is obviously gaining confidence!

Now badger No. 1 had braved the bright lights from next door, and was feeding at the table in full view if anyone else had been looking out of their windows Badger number 2 crept up the right side of the garden, using the path, like a good boy, and crept past No. 1 and continued up to the patio. It is most that they do not seem to communicate in any way. We shall have to have the window open a touch, and see if they make any sounds?!

No. 2 was now happily feeding at the dish, and the fox crept up the left, to the step. It is most comical to see a pair of ears moving just above the wall, but nothing else. He peeked round the wall, and got a shock Badger no. 2 chased him off, then came back to finish his meal. In the meantime a white and black cat, the one with black ears, that looks evil, was sitting in full view on top of a fence.

No. 1 finished the table contents, cleared up round it and came slowly up to the patio. Two watching humans stopped breathing (well, I did!) Are they going to feed from the same dish Are they going to "talk" to each other? No. It seems that they do not compete, and only occasionally share, but it would have been lovely to get a photo with two of them in shot.

As I type I have in front of me a photo taken about fifteen years ago by a friend outside her caravan. There are three badgers, Mum and two cubs all feeding from two big dishes (old meat tins or something similar!) .

My friend would have been so delighted at our good fortune, and would have been knocking on our door to take a "looksee", but as I may have mentioned before she is no longer with us, having passed away several years ago. Did I say no longer with us? Of course she is, looking after all the strays she can find, and any wildlife that has found it's way up there, bless her .

The fox that returned did not appear to be the one that was limping earlier. No news on that so far. More fireworks than usual last night, but at least they seem to be taking notice of the 11 o'clock curfew this year.

Badger No. 1 left after inspecting No. 2's dish, and Badger No. 2 went shortly afterwards. Very few holes this morning, so apparently badgers can "hear" where the worms are much better when the grass is short I am now looking for a new mower, as this one is getting too heavy for me, and if I have to cut the lawn more often to accommodate the badgers I better make it a bit easier Every bit of me aches this morning . Must be getting old


Must and get Sunday lunch or I will be getting the sack for now. C U l8r as my son would say!!

Websailor

I bet everyone has gone off to watch the badger webcams. Wish I could too, but my computer isn't equipped

However, perhaps we are a bit nearer figuring out what sex and seniority our badgers are

Fascinating Facts: 1) Lying down to feed indicates superiority! Hence the picture I have of mother lying down to feed while cubs stand!

2) Several badgers may feed at the same places, but not all at the same time, so we may have more than two

LAST NIGHT Sunday 16th Oct. 2005

It was too late to report last night and I have been very busy today. At 10.25pm I checked out the window and Brock was coming up the garden, hoovering up the peanuts and raisins as he came. His watch seems to be working better again Just behind him, but very unsure of himself, was Ferdie Fox, also picking up the odd peanut etc.

The small table was lit up by next door's bedroom light but it didn't seem to bother him. When I popped out early yesterday morning, I noticed that the window that was lighting up the table for two nights, had the curtains drawn in a very peculiar way, with a six inch gap to one side. It wasn't to get fresh air as the windows were shut. I am now beginning to wonder if we have another watcher in the night I still can't believe that no-one else is aware of what is going on. If I am right, the person watching is welcome, as she works at an animal sanctuary and loves animals

This badger stood the whole time, legs and feet well away from the table, but eating very daintily. It looked a little smaller too. This one has good table manners, though if I had opened the window, I would have heard the *slurp, slurp, crunch, crunch* which I heard during the summer when the windows were open Some of them have terrible table manners The table wobbled once, but did not come off. He worked his way around the round table, only stopping once to give the fox his marching orders - and Ferdie took off over the fence.

By this time the moon was up and the garden was bathed in silvery light and black shadows. He finished most of what was on the table, and meandered around the top of the garden picking up bits, but still did not tip the table. Neither did he come up to the patio He was with us for 45 minutes, but did not appear to be especially hungry, so was it a cub with a smaller appetite? Perhaps his appetite was affected by the very warm weather of the last few days

As he wandered down the garden, he suddenly took off very fast in pursuit of something, but we couldn't see what He eventually disappeared, and hadn't come back when I eventually went to bed at midnight Making my usual nocturnal trip at 2.15am the garden was still as bright as daylight, and the table was tipped over And the contents of the dish had gone It is highly unlikely that anything else was responsible, as the mere sound of the dish clanking frightens the fox, and the slates covering the dish are very heavy

So was the secret late night visitor the same one back again, badger No. 2 or yet another one? We haven't seen the limping fox since either. I do hope it is I am pleased to say there were no fireworks locally last night and I hope it remains quiet tonight too.

It is strange to think that I have lived here so long, and shutting curtains and blinds as soon as it begins to get dark, I have missed all this activity. The garden has been very quiet of late, during the day, as hardly any birds are coming to feed. I do miss them, but there are so many berries and seeds around, it is good to know that they choose naturally provided food, over our offerings.

I hope the badgers do too, but according to my "badger bible" those whose diet is supplemented by humans produce more, and healthier, cubs. Hopefully we shall know early next year.
If our visitors are early enough tonight I will come back later. If not tomorrow.



Websailor

Bless you WS! another wonderful gem for the collection. I shall have to read it more thoroughly later; but for now a couple of comments.

On thinking about it, lying down would imply seniority wouldn't it? it would mean that said badger felt no need to be wary of other badgers. It would instinctively know that as 'top dog' so to speak, there would be no threat.

I have felt for some time; from what you have said, that there are certainly at least three badgers. Bossy badger 1, timid badger 2 and very best table manners badger 3, or have I lost the plot somewhere?

Perhaps Brer Fox was lucky and had something like a thorn in his pad, instead of a cut. He/she would have probably been able to lie down and suck/dig it out and is now ok. Hopefully that is the case.

Council Waste Collections/Brer Fox Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Our local Council has recently introduced fortnightly collections of household rubbish, interspersed with recycling boxes open to the elements/wildlife. I refuse to subscribe to putting out empty tins in case our resident foxes cut themselves. However, since the Council only collect fortnightly for the main bin, I am now halfway through the cycle; have a full bin and six black sacks to the side. Yesterday, I saw a tear in one of the sacks; and thinking I had snagged it on something, put the contents into yet another bag. 3:00am Brer Fox put the security light on whilst tearing apart a bin liner (I had stupidly put a chicken carcase into it earlier)

Will stop by later in case of more updates.

Sorry you can't see the webcams WS. They don't start till 7:00pm. However, although its nice to see the live badgers, its still not as interesting as this thread, 'cos the imagination is often better than the reality.

Speak soon and thanks again.

Animal, thank you!

A webcam my old computer can still access

I shall check in with it during the day, and try earlier tomorrow evening. I might get lucky. I used to be able to watch animals in Africa and Polar Bears in the arctic, but technology has moved on and left me behind Just realised I can't spell Guy Fawkes, really, it shows how interested I am!!

Scorpio_ as I suspected the ones you gave me are too clever for my computer but thank you for finding it anyway.

Off to use my NVS and see if I get lucky too

Websailor

Feeling better Websailor?

Yes, thank you Fb I hope you are too? Incidentally, what's the time difference between where you are and where I am? You are ahead of us aren't you?

LAST NIGHT

I am not sure but I think I have sussed a very clever badger. Last night we were visited at the regular time of 10.40pm by the more dominant confident badger. After clearing most of the peanuts and raisins scattered on the "trail" he came straight up to the dish, ignoring the table entirely. After struggling for a few minutes with the new method of covering the dish, he eventually tucked in. The light last night was good and we could see very clearly that he was very hungry. He wolfed the food down like there was no tomorrow, munching away noisily for nearly half an hour!

Then he investigated the table and took a few bits off it. We are fairly sure that he was taking the tiny bits of honey sandwich Now the reason I think I have sussed something is that this particular badger always leaves a very small amount of food on the dish, however hungry he appears. Perhaps Mum told him it was good manners to leave a little each time However, I have mentioned before that slugs seem attracted to the white, cool, enamel dish, and promptly climb in

Now, last night it was full shortly after badger left. But Brock (which one I don't know) came back in the early hours, tipped and cleared the table and the remaining food in the dish. No sign of a single slug! Now - could it have been the same one, leaving food to attract the slugs, so that he can have a feast later, without having spend hours looking for them

His "observed" visit last night was very businesslike, no messing, and over quickly. I wonder if the Full Moon has had any bearing on their behaviour? No foxes were seen last night. Perhaps it was too light, or perhaps it gives them a better chance of catching their natural food.

I have been helping someone on another web site to find out what is visiting his garden during the night. He appearsto have two different visitors, and put up photos of their respective "scats", one of which has been definitively been identified by all of us as fox "pooh". The other appears to be badger "doodoo" and we are waiting to see if he can get visual confirmation. He tried staying up all night to watch, but dropped off several times and admits he may have missed something!

The deposit was there right at the bottom of the garden next morning, which would explain why he saw nothing! I have suggested he borrows or buys a NVS to save his sanity I will let you know if he eventually IDs his visitors for certain.

Have to go and buy a new battery for the scope. The last thing I need is for it to die on me at a crucial moment

Scorpio_, your observations about there possibly being three badgers makes perfect sense. Also the comment about the dominant one. I am too close to it to see the bigger picture but you spotted it. We are definitely starting to recognise different behaviour and personalities.

When you think about it there have been setts around here since about 1900 and possibly even hundreds of years, so it doesn't seem sensible that there would be only two badgers, does it? As they use the same feeding areas, but not necessarily together it makes perfect sense.

Enough wittering for now, I am still ploughing through the badger book which I hope will explain more of the idiosyncrasies of these fascinating animals.

Off to do what I should really be doing, and trying to resist looking at the webcams. Must before my resolve weakens

Websailor

We're nine hours ahead of you at the moment Websailor, so I'm just about to head towards bed Once your clocks go back, we'll be 10 hours ahead.

It'll be interesting to see whether your slug problem on plants is reduced in the spring. It ought to be with the badgers feasting on them every night

Afternoon WS!

I should also be off to do what I should be doing - mopping the kitchen floor - if my dog goes into another brook today I'll neck him!!

However, I'd much sooner be here, so the floor can wait.

It seems to me that you have a very forward planning badger at work there. Obviously know what side his bread is buttered and wants your food and slugs for pudding.

Isn't it amazing how excited we humans can get over animal excreta? Photographs even. Oh dear oh dear!! You couldn't make it up could you?

What an absolutely incredible thread this is turning out to be. It gets better and better

Where have I missed the bit about a new covering for the dish?

Really must and do that floor now, before somebody (only me here again) breaks a leg.

Will log in later for the next update WS.

always good for a look see...sealife


http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/cam_menu.asp