In the Episode Nine of the Injured Badger Hole Adventure I revisit the injured badger hole on a very cold day. With temperatures hitting negative 10 degrees Celsius, it was a challenge to use the camera.
Because all vegetation is now frozen, instead of going through the forest like I normally do to reach the injured badger hole, on day 13 of the adventure I decided to cut across the field instead. It is far less bumpy to walk up the field, but I didn’t used to do it because prior to the deep freeze, the vegetation was always harboring a lot of morning dew and it drenched my boots. Within the forest, the dew landed on the tree canopy so I could walk any distance without getting my feet excessively wet. But in the woods there are no smooth and direct trails like on a field.
I felt a bit surprised to find Woodpecker Decker pecking away in this kind of frigid cold. I thought he’d at least wait out the freezing morning in his hideout until midday warms the environment out, but apparently the freeze doesn’t faze woodpeckers much.
As I approached the injured badger hole, the distant sound of chainsaws once again spoiled the relaxing sound of nature and made me realize the wildlife habitat fragmentation is advancing much faster than I would like. I pulled a random song out of my head going down the steep approach to the sett.
While to my sadness there has been no sign of the injured badger for two weeks, suggesting ever stronger that he didn’t make it, to my (kind of) surprise, a fox came to snoop around his (presumably) now abandoned den. The fox didn’t go inside, but he/she did poke the head in the entrance, exhibiting intention to do it, albeit interrupted for the time being.
Nighttime rat activity has declined. I do not bring any more food to the burrow, because it has not served the badger one bit, so rats stopped having a party every night at the food box. It would seem the other rats returned to their respective holes and the one who’s a resident in the badger’s sett show up far less than before. It could have something to do with dropping temperatures. I presume the rat has stocked up for winter, much like squirrels, so exposing himself extensively to the calories draining cold of the night would not make a whole lot of sense.
After leaving the injured badger’s sett, I encountered a lone roe deer on a slope. He was as frozen staring me down as the morning that day. The instincts eventually told him to err on the side of caution, but he was still curious about me and didn’t run for his life.
With the injured badger likely not alive anymore, the focus is now on the fox. What’s he up to? Bdgers build amazing underground homes for animals so I guess it would be a shame to miss out on one if the builder is no longer claiming it?
00:00 Climbing up hill in -10 degrees Celsius
01:30 Rest marks on frozen ground
02:12 Cold morning greet from woodpecker Decker
02:44 Singing my way down the steep slope
03:13 Day 13 at the injured badger hole
03:25 Fox checked out the injured badger’s sett
04:05 Decker makes me wonder if woodpeckers migrate to warm climates
04:42 Roe deer in frozen field
Keep rocking :o)
Mark
https://www.nophoneman.com/
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