Peascombe Bait Marking 16th February-1st March 2008

On a clear and crisp Saturday morning on 16th February, nine intrepid badger enthusiasts gathered at the Peascombe site near Bridport for the start of a most interesting experiment.

The presence of badgers in the area was well-documented, with setts and holes already identified. What we were unsure of, however, and very curious to find out, was whether the two setts were home to one family or two distinct groups of badgers.

This can be determined by a process known as "bait marking" - feeding the badgers over a period of time with food to which has been added small coloured balls. These balls then pass harmlessly through their digestive tracts and are ejected with their dung into the badgers' latrine pits.

We were presented with two buckets, each containing a sticky mix of peanuts and maple syrup (both badger favourites!). In one bucket had been placed a number of blue and green balls, and in the other red and yellow balls.

We then made a number of small indentations around the setts and placed a dollop of the bait in each, blue and green used for one of the setts, red and yellow for the other, as well as scattering loose peanuts generally over the area.

We also located the various latrine pits around the site and took GPS readings to mark them for future reference. As well as a number of latrines, we also found some otter spraint, which was an added bonus.

The initial set-up was then complete and we made our way home, wondering what results our next visit would yield. In the intervening weeks, each evening volunteers visited the site to put out new marked bait.

Two weeks later we returned, this time armed with plastic gloves, spoons and trays and looking forward to a morning of sifting through badger dung! We divided into two teams, one concentrating on the "blue and green" sett, one the "red and yellow" sett, and began the process of examing dung from the latrine pitts for the presence of coloured balls, agreeing to meet back to compare results an hour later.

If there were two distinct groups of badgers in the area with separate territories, we would find no latrine pits containing both blue/green and red/yellow balls. If the setts were home to just one group, there would be evidence of the badgers sharing latrines.

After an hour's diligent investigation, the results were ready - two distinct badger groups had been identified! This was exciting news and not what we had been expecting. Not only that, but with time to spare the red and yellow team had gone exploring and found a previously unmarked latrine pit nearby containing.....only blue and green balls! What made this particularly interesting was that the "blue and green" badgers would have had to cross a river to use this latrine pit, which is unusual as badgers frequently make use of natural boundaries to mark the limits of their territories.

To be able to produce an accurate map of the two territories, more detailed research is needed, and we also suspect that there may be a third set in an as-yet-unsurveyed area nearby. But we were delighted to be able to solve the mystery of the Peascombe badgers and to have proof of two populations resident in the area!

Badger Training Day - Sunday 7th October 2007

On a bright a beautiful autumn day, around 15 "badger trainees" gathered at Stour Row Village Hall for a morning discovering all things badgery...

The theoretical part of the session consisted of a well-structured and informative talk on general badger biology and behaviour given by Elizabeth Boxall. Then it was the turn of Elizabeth James, who took us through the sad but important procedure for recording and reporting badger RTAs (Road Traffic Accidents)*.

After fortifying ourselves with some refreshments, which also gave everyone a chance to get to know each other a little better, we divided into two groups and headed off into the fresh air for the practical part of the training. Taking two different routes (with or without the need to negotiate stiles), we passed into the lovely Duncliff Wood, renowned for its beautiful carpet of bluebells in the spring.

A short walk brought us to our goal - a marvellous large badger sett - where we spent a very enjoyable half hour or so getting to know the various elements of an active sett: badger paths, latrine pits, entrance holes both frequently and less-frequently used, and the impressive spoil heaps that are signs of badger excavations.

By the end of the session, everyone had a much clearer idea of what to look for when out and about in the countryside. Records of setts are extremely valuable, as it is only by knowing the location of setts and monitoring activity at them that we are able to protect and conserve Dorset's badgers. Records are submitted to DERC, the Dorset Environmental Records Office, and considered during planning issues. Regular monitoring also allows the Dorset Badger Group to be alerted when a sett has been unlawfully interfered with.

All in all, it was an enjoyable and very informative day, and it was wonderful to see so many participants attending and eager to learn about badgers and hopefully get involved with the work of the group.

If you would like to monitor and record setts in your area or would like to attend a future DBG training day, please contact us. We would be delighted to hear from you.

*This is valuable work - records of badger road casualties are passed to DERC, the Dorset Environmental Records Office, where the data is used in developing mitigation measurements when new roads are constructed. In addition, the monitoring of road casualties sometimes leads to the rescue and rehabilitation of injured badgers as well as uncovering occasional instances of foul play, where badgers appearing to be road deaths have died by other means. Please note that you can now submit RTA records online through the Dorset Badger Group by completing our RTA form.

Sun at last! - Kinson Common Open Day, 12th August 2007

Third time lucky - the third and final outing for the Dorset Badger Group display team in 2007 at Kinson Common on Sunday 12th August was blessed with (most of the time) glorious sunshine and a steady stream of interested adults and children keen to discuss badgers, make badger masks and contribute to our "Badger Gallery" with some colouring.

It's always a pleasure to speak to people about badgers, and the Kinson day gave us an opportunity to talk about all sorts of issues, to hear some stories from those lucky folk who have badgers in their gardens, and to introduce dozens of children to our friendly display badger. "Is it real?" was the most commonly asked question of the day. "Of course he's real," we replied, "we've just trained him to stand very still!" And the many dogs who accompanied their owners to the day were usually even more intrigued than the children!

Overall, it was a very successful day and a great chance to spread the word about Dorset's badgers and the ongoing need for their protection and care. That's it for our public outings this year - we'll be back with the roadshow again in 2008. In the meantime, watch this space for news of the next Badger Training Day, which will be taking place in North Dorset on Sunday 7th October. If you can't wait for details, please contact us for further information!

Here comes the rain! - Turbary Common Open Day, 21st July 2007

Once again the heavens opened and bathed us generously when the intrepid Dorset Badger Group display team turned up at Turbary Common in Poole for the annual open day.

Huddled in our tent, forced to batten down the hatches by the torrential rain, we peeked out occasionally at the leaden skies and whispered silent prayers for a break in the clouds. From time to time the showers lessened and we were able to open up shop, and amazingly a few hardy souls were around and keen to talk about badgers. Later on in the day we even saw some blue sky, and though we could hardly say it was one of our busiest events, we met some wonderful friendly people and some lovely children, all fascinated by badgers and keen to learn and participate in mask making and colouring!

All in all, then, it was a rather enjoyable day despite the weather. Thank you to Friends of Turbary Common for organising the event and fingers crossed for better weather next year!

Dorset Badger Group stand at DWT Brooklands Farm, 30th June 2007

Despite some truly awful weather, the Dorset Badger Group had a very enjoyable day at the Dorset Wildlife Trust Open Day at Brooklands Farm. Although some of the events planned for the day could not go ahead because of the rain (not really the day for pond dipping and browsing through meadows!), there were nevertheless quite a number of hardy folk who braved the weather and came for a day of wildlife activities in the heart of the Dorset countryside.

Visitors had the chance to examine up close some beautiful moths caught in a moth trap the evening before, field and bank voles, slow worms and grass snakes. And there was no shortage of excellent food on offer with a barbecue and some wonderful cream teas and cakes! We had a thoroughly enjoyable time making masks with the children and chatting about badgers. Perhaps the event was not as well attended as everyone hoped due to the terrible weather, but those who came were enthusiastic and cheerful and had a great day. Our thanks to everyone from DWT involved in the planning and execution of the event. Fingers crossed for better weather next time!

Earlier this year, on 18th February, the Badger Group had a stand at the BBC Breathing Places Next Box Challenge Day in Poole Park. We had an excellent day, meeting some wondeful people, young and old(er), talking for hours about badgers and making dozens and dozens of masks! See the links below to features on the BBC website.

BBC Dorset Nest Box Feature

DBG Badger!

DBG Mask Making