Evening Wildlife Watching Hide Update August 2025
- Harris Brooker
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The evenings are getting lighter as the year progresses and the start time is now earlier at 8pm. This has meant that the Badgers have been coming earlier in the evening than they were, hopefully we’ll get plenty more Badger sightings as the year progresses. There are still Pine Martens being seen along with Roe and Red Deer, bats, Tawny and Barn Owls are being heard and we’re getting plenty of smaller things too such as Palmate Newts. Hopefully the coming autumn will prove just as eventful as the summer.
Badgers
The Badgers are now visiting earlier and that’s always great from the guest’s point of view. One night a Badger first announced its presence by munching on the peanuts laid below the microphone. It was unseen at first because it was feeding so close to the wall of the hide and then after a while became visible. Then a second one appeared and they fed over a log at one point, rocking it from side to side. A sudden noise from further away caused them to run off, but thankfully they came back and after they finished feeding and as they left, three more took their places after a while.
Pine Martens
We are still getting regular Pine Marten sightings, mostly of the young male. One night we witnessed one of the most dramatic interactions I’ve ever seen between a Pine Marten and a Badger. The Pine Marten had come in from the left-hand side on the ground, which is becoming something they’re doing more regularly as they gain confidence. The Badger looked towards it, clearly aware of its presence, then went back to feeding. It was interesting to witness, because it proved that they didn’t necessarily attack the Pine Martens on sight. Then after a while the Badger seemed to take exception to it and charged. The Pine Marten quickly fled around the corner of the platform and the Badger failed to catch it. The Badger stood there looking dumbfounded and the Pine Marten wasn’t seen again that evening!
Other Wildlife
The Scottish Wildcat is still around and Wood Mice and the occasional Bank Vole can be seen dashing out of their hiding places and grabbing peanuts to eat in safety. Tawny Owls and sometimes Barn Owls were being heard from the hide and in the fields, we have had both Red and Roe Deer walking through. We also have had bats flying through, most likely either Common or Soprano Pipistrelles One evening we had a Buff Tip Moth on the glass. Then when the evenings had finished we would go back to the car park in the dark and we'd often see Leopard Slugs, Palmate Newts, Common Toads and Common Frogs especially when it’s been raining.
If you would like to have your chance of seeing our nocturnal wildlife go to: http://bit.ly/sw_EWW
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