Recently we decided to walk through Old Copse looking for hazel poles to use for tree planting stakes. We walked to the boundary of the wood and continued through a narrow band of woodland . The wood was clearly ancient woodland, with a stream running through it, a tributary of the Ghyll that runs through Old Copse. It looks as if it hasn't been touched for years. A jungly tangle of undergrowth, fallen trees, and standing deadwood peppered with woodpecker holes. And suddenly, there it was, right in the middle of the woodland, an extensive badger sett with over a dozen entrances, and a couple of badger latrines. There was extensive evidence of recent scraping and digging, and a network of narrow paths. We seem to have found the home of the badger captured on the trail camera recently and put on the blog earlier this month .
Recent sightings:
A few days ago as I sat on the cabin deck with a cup of tea, I saw a Sparrowhawk flying east to west towards the Pond . One of the deer stalkers visiting the wood recently saw Little Owls, Tawny Owls - and most thrillingly - a Barn Owl, drifting over the tussocky grass in a clearing south of the cabin. We're so pleased that a Barn Owl has taken to visiting Old Copse. We know of a Barn Owl who was nesting in a tree a couple of miles away - perhaps this is the same one.
A fine well-constructed entrance.
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Beautifully round with a neat track in
This entrance is obviously well-used
Badger latrine - someone's eaten something that disagreed with them.
Recent sightings:
A few days ago as I sat on the cabin deck with a cup of tea, I saw a Sparrowhawk flying east to west towards the Pond . One of the deer stalkers visiting the wood recently saw Little Owls, Tawny Owls - and most thrillingly - a Barn Owl, drifting over the tussocky grass in a clearing south of the cabin. We're so pleased that a Barn Owl has taken to visiting Old Copse. We know of a Barn Owl who was nesting in a tree a couple of miles away - perhaps this is the same one.
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