Finding evidence......

            Checking the wood for storm damage last week I came across a group of shallow holes near the boundary to the pear orchard next door, and each hole contained a largish animal poo. I knew immediately that this was a typical Badger's latrine area. They usually mark the edges of their territory this way and the holes also usually signal that a sett is pretty close by. After a little more searching I found the entrance to the sett and signs there of fresh digging.  Over the years my remote wildlife cameras have often taken photos of Badgers wandering the woods but this is the first real evidence that we actually have a sett in Crow Wood.  Remote cameras are really useful for monitoring wildlife activity so I set one up hoping to catch a Badger using the sett....and it worked, the proof I needed that that is an active sett.

             My other camera has been watching for evidence that the Tawny Owls are going to use their nest box again. They have made some visits over the weeks but only intermittently so far, so it may suggest they are going to nest elsewhere. Time will tell. They nest early in the year so it may be the foul weather of recent weeks has put them back.

             Very often a specific call is evidence of a particular bird being in the wood or passing through and so it was that on the same day I picked up the typical "song" of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. This sparrow-sized woodpecker is sadly a very rare bird across the UK and one of my great favourites. They are very hard to spot as they forage high in the canopy but after a little scanning with binoculars I found it, a fine female. This gives me hope that the wood may still have a pair or two breeding there.

             And on the ground, evidence of the season moving on with the first shoots appearing through the dead leaves......very heartening.

Caught on camera near the sett

is this the same Badger or another ? They are social animals.....

The tiny Lesser Spot, the male has a red crown

the wing markings are stunning

Primrose flowers pushing through

First signs of the Early Purple Orchids

.........and Snowdrops, seeking the light