Evening Wildlife Watching Hide Update January 2026

Introduction

2026 has just begun and already, plenty has happened. There have been sightings of Badgers, Pine Martens and even the Scottish Wildcat. Tawny Owls have been heard and there’s been excellent stargazing opportunities, when the nights have been clear, with Jupiter and multiple star constellations seen and enjoyed by guests.

Badgers

There are still Badgers visiting the hide; however, the cold conditions have caused most of them to stay cosy in their setts. Badgers don’t hibernate fully, but they slow down through colder periods and become more active when the weather improves. However, one male Badger has been appearing regularly.

One night this male Badger arrived at about 9:10pm and stayed till 9:30pm. Both Pine Martens and the Scottish Wildcat had appeared earlier in the evening, and it completed the set of the top three mammals to see from the hide. Normally, if all three species are seen then it’s the Badger that’s seen first, however on this night, the order was reversed. On another night, two guests were in and I explained to them how the last time I’d seen a Badger, it had come in very late, normally at the time a hide session would be finished. However, on this night, the Badger defied expectations by appearing at 7.30pm.

I knew from experience on winter nights that sometimes if a Badger did appear, it might not stay for very long if it saw that no other Badgers had been already. With this in mind, I recommended to the guests that they move to the left-hand side of the hide to get the best view of it in case it disappears. My instincts proved correct, the Badger appeared wary for some reason and went round the bottom of the platform and disappeared. Then later, at about 8:25pm, it reappeared from the right-hand side and began to feed on the peanuts. Then at about 8:40pm, it went along the path on the left-hand side. It stopped to squat and one of the guests chuckled because it looked like it had tripped over something, but I explained to them that it was scent marking. We watched it bound away along the path and disappear.

Badger (Photo Credit: Harris Brooker)

Badger (Photo Credit: Harris Brooker)

Pine Martens

There are at least two Pine Martens that visit the hide, a male and female. One night I was sat in the hide and early in the night both the male and female sat and fed together on the platform, eating the peanuts and sultanas laid out for them. They stayed for about 10 minutes before the male left and then later on, so did the female. On another night the male Pine Marten came in very early in the evening, at about 6.25pm and stayed for a wee while.

Normally when Pine Martens visit, they do so once and prefer to come back later in the evening. However, the male returned at 8.25pm and began feeding on the ground, on the peanuts that were meant for the Badgers. Then it fled suddenly and the Scottish Wildcat came in, the third time that I’ve ever seen the two species interact with each other. The Pine Martens fear both the Badgers and the Wildcat, they are safe from the Badgers on the platform, but not the Wildcat, they have to climb onto the higher, thinner branches to escape it. Not surprisingly, the two species are not seen together very often, making this one of the most unexpectedly exciting nights so far this year.

Pine Martens (Photo Credit: Harris Brooker)

Pine Martens (Photo Credit: Harris Brooker)

Scottish Wildcat

The Scottish Wildcat is hanging around and has developed its bushy winter coat. Since coming back from the Christmas festivities, it has remained elusive. Then, one night it came in suddenly, scaring a Pine Marten away and then walked towards the left-hand side, where it stood next to the platform wall for a few minutes before wandering off into the darkness.

Scottish Wildcat (Photo Credit: Harris Brooker)

Other Wildlife

Tawny Owls have been heard from the hide. The weather has been too cold for Wood Mice and Bank Voles. Some nights have been so clear that they have been good for astronomy. On those nights I’ve shown guests Jupiter and star constellations like Taurus - the Bull, that has the Pleiades Cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. They are a star cluster, whose main stars will drift further apart from each other as time goes on. There was Orion - the Hunter, Auriga - the Charioteer, Ursa Major - the Great Bear, Ursa Minor - the Little Bear, which has Polaris, the north star that is a useful navigational tool because it shows the true north and never moves, Draco - the Dragon, Hercules,  Perseus, Cassiopeia, Leo - the Lion and one of my favourites, Delphinus - the Dolphin, which is shaped like a dolphin and is a popular place for astronomers to search for deep space objects like novae and galaxies.

If you would like to visit our Evening Wildlife Watching Hide you can have a look on our website  http://bit.ly/sw_EWW