Evening Wildlife Watching Hide Update April 2026
- Harris Brooker
- May 4
- 3 min read
It’s been a busy month at the hide, with plenty of activity to report. Badgers have been regular visitors, alongside Pine Martens and even a Scottish Wildcat. Guests have also seen or heard Wood Mice, Red Deer, Eurasian Snipe and Woodcock. As the weather continues to warm up, we’re expecting the sightings to keep coming into May.
Badgers
The Badgers have been coming in every night so far, with eight individuals confirmed. One evening, while it was still light, a Badger appeared from the right-hand side of the platform and started feeding. It wasn’t seen at first, only giving itself away when its munching was picked up by the microphone. I always put peanuts underneath the microphone to make sure guests get to hear the sound if conditions aren’t too windy.
It eventually emerged into the open, fed for a while, and then moved off. A second one appeared soon after, fed briefly, and left. Towards the end of the evening there were five together, all females. By this point it was dark, and after feeding they quietly disappeared back into the night.
Pine Martens
We are still getting regular Pine Marten sightings, with both the male and female being seen. One night we were waiting patiently when someone suddenly said the Pine Marten was here. It was the female, and her appearance was striking.
She was in the middle of her summer moult. The darker brown summer coat, which had previously been confined to her face, was spreading up her legs, with only her body still showing the paler winter coat. She fed for about half an hour before moving off.
Later, a new individual appeared, a male I’d not seen before. He had similar markings to the female, but with one brown spot in line with his neck collar, whereas the female’s spot sits slightly higher. It remains to be seen whether this male replaces the earlier one or is simply passing through. He fed for around ten minutes before leaving.
Scottish Wildcat
The Scottish Wildcat wasn’t seen from the hide last month, though I’d been reassured it was still around. This month, it finally made an appearance.
It was about 10:45pm and the evening was drawing to a close when one of the guests gasped. I went over to look and there it was, on the left-hand side of the platform, as if about to step into the light. Instead, it slipped through the bushes.
I said that if we wanted to follow it, we’d need to end the evening early and head back to the car park. That was quickly agreed, we’d already had a good evening with the Badgers, and this was a far rarer opportunity. After checking no one had left anything behind, we headed into the garden and watched it for some time. Everyone managed to get onto it, and after a while we left it in peace and made our way back. Very happy guests all round.
Other Wildlife
Wood Mice have been busy, darting out to grab peanuts before disappearing back into the safety of the platform walls. We’ve heard Tawny Owls, drumming Common Snipe, and for the first time this year, roding Woodcock. One night, a herd of Red Deer moved through the fields in front of the hide, grazing quietly before continuing on.
If you would like a chance to see our nocturnal visitors go to: http://bit.ly/sw_EWW to book your place.
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