Evening Wildlife Watching Hide Update February 2026
- Harris Brooker
- Mar 2
- 2 min read
Badgers
The Badgers are beginning to become more regular again. The winter months can be a slow time for the Badgers as the cold often keeps them inside their setts, but there have been nights recently where up to two have been showing. One night it looked as though nothing was going to show at all then roundabout 19:35 a male Badger came in from the left and started foraging. It looked unkempt by the way its fur was sticking up and its tail was looking dishevelled. It fed for around 15 minutes before leaving. It stayed longer than I expected and I initially said to the guests to come to the left in case it only stayed two minutes, which had been the pattern earlier in the month. Then fate surprised us more when a second Badger appeared. At first I thought it was the same individual from earlier, but no, it was another male, larger than the last with a bigger head. It fed for another half hour before disappearing down the left hand side path.
Pine Martens
There are still Pine Martens visiting. There are currently two of them, a male and a female. One night a Badger had not long come in to feed when all of a sudden there was a commotion from the guests as the Male Pine Marten leapt up from below the twin Lawson’s Cypresses and ran along the log bridge to feed. It sat down on the platform and as it fed I pointed out the triple spot pattern down its bib that is unique to this individual. It stayed for about 15 to 20 minutes before urinating on the platform, a signal that it is about to leave and then running along the log bridge and descending the twin Lawson’s Cypresses.
Scottish Wildcat
The Scottish Wildcat is still present and hopefully as the year progresses more opportunities to see it will present itself, especially when the evenings grow lighter. My most recent encounter with our Scottish Wildcat actually occurred slightly further afield in the local area and I believed it was the same individual because it had no tracking collar. It ran in front of me across the road and shot through an old wooden gate and disappeared. There had also been a previous occasion where I’d encountered it at night and again this individual had no collar. It promptly disappeared into the vegetation.
Other Wildlife
There are Wood Mice that occasionally come out of the crack in the wall and grab a peanut before dashing back in again. The cold largely stops the Wood Mice from coming out so to see one individual come out one night was a surprise and will hopefully become more frequent as the weather warms up. Tawny Owls have been heard and there are now also Common Toads around which is definitely a sign spring is on the way.
If you would like to visit our Evening Wildlife Watching Hide go to: http://bit.ly/sw_EWW and book your place
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