Nature Trails

We may not see many larger mammals like badgers, foxes, deer and even rabbits in the wild very often but they are all around us, hiding in holts and setts and drays and dens.

Most of our larger mammals are nocturnal and only come out when we're all tucked up in our beds. But they do leave behind evidence of their twilight meanderings. 

These trails can be found all through the grassy areas surrounding the stand of blackthorn, hawthorn and bramble where I've recently been fox watching. I'm sure they are mostly made by foxes because they are quite narrow - foxes tend to trot along like cats with their feet close together. Badgers lumber along with their feet wide apart by comparison. And deer - even small deer like muntjac - leave hardly any trail at all as they are hoofed.

Occasionally these paths lead to pronounced holes in the hedges that provide hideouts among the sharp thorns or conceal the entrances to the animals' homes..

And you'll also find trails running parallel to the hedgerows. The paths are so well-worn that they must have been trodden thousands of times. 

But wildlife leaves behind more than just trails. There's plenty of evidence of excavation by the animals that the foxes are hunting. 

If you visit these fields at night, you'll find rabbits all over the place digging out burrows and tasty roots. It's easy to tell the difference between these holes and those dug by dogs - you just need to look at the size of the claw marks in the soil.

There are also several badger setts that I regularly walk past . This one seems to have been abandoned as I've seen no new activity near it for some time - there were signs of fresh excavation last Spring but nothing since. 

Meanwhile, this one has badger footprints nearby and always attracts the attention of Harris, my pug. He may have a stubby nose but it certainly works well enough.

And, of course, animal activity is easy to spot while the trees are bereft of leaves - there are bird nests to be seen everywhere. Many of them will soon be in use again.

I sometimes point these things out to fellow walkers and I'm always surprised when I hear that they've never noticed them before.

Mind you, I'm also amazed by how many people walk in these wonderful wild spaces wearing headphones or staring at their phones.

Why?

Nature has all the best sounds and pictures.