19 November 2013

A less windy night but still cold (about 4 degrees). The badgers emerged at 18:04 and weren't seen again after 21:22 -- so, quite an early night. They found both dishes of food this time but failed to clean their plates, leaving an egg each and even, for the first time, some peanuts behind. A board on the ground with some food under it was ignored. The eggs have been brought in and washed; I might get some badger leftovers after all. Speaking of which, I informed the head chef that Benji had been recorded taking a quail underground again. That's funny, they didn't get a quail last night was the response.

To adapt an old Chinese proverb, a badger will have to stand with his mouth open for a long time before a quail flies in, so presumably Benji dropped it in a hurry home the previous night, and we overlooked it somehow (it seems unlikely that he stashed it). Still no sign of any feet or beaks in the spoil heap outside the sett.

They took in still more bedding and had time for some exuberant frolics before retiring for the night.

A couple of video clips showed an individual badger not being pursued but "pretending" to be -- and honing some badger ninja skills: practising turning 180 degrees as fast as possible, with little airborne leaps.

So far the badgers have been recorded simply dragging bedding. This time there was a brief clip of one attempting to take some bracken in in its mouth.

Although these badgers are surely among the best fed anywhere, just now when fluffed up against the cold they look even larger than they really are. They look well prepared for the cold weather.