Hi William,
The boys round here are constantly brawling, I can’t work out whether it’s just frustration at the lack of females in the vicinity or whether they are in training for some kind of military assault. I am certainly keeping a watchful eye on the garden implements, goodness only knows what would happen if they got their hands on the lawn aerator…ouch!
Having said that, I am very worried about the spiky little devils. They have either been deployed on a mission or there is something even more sinister going on. There has still been no sign of Nagini for nearly a month now and only a couple of days after she went missing, a large, very well fed badger was spotted dead at the side of the road on the way into the village. This is the first badger in over twenty years that I have seen near the village and a very worrying development indeed. I don’t know if it is just coincidence, but numbers visiting have fallen significantly since, down from around ten to just two or three. 🙁 I suppose it could have something to do with the uncharacteristically hot weather or it could be that our next door neighbour is also feeding them now; I know that others on the forum have also reported reduced numbers, so I am trying to stay optimistic.
Thankfully there have been no more sightings of the rat, but that could be down to our new resident raptor, which I believe to be a female tawny owl. Every night for the last week its call has been recorded on the trail cameras, although I can’t imagine any potential meal hanging around for long with all that squawking overhead – I thought they were supposed to be silent hunters! I have read that they do occasionally take hedgehogs, so that could be another reason why they are making themselves scarce.
Glad to hear that you’ve got some hoglets, I have found the odd miniature parcel here and there, so maybe ours too have learned to evade the cameras and hopefully some sharp talons!
I have put together a few clips with the mystery noises in the background. Like I say, I think it is a female tawny owl and another can sometimes be heard answering its calls. Whatever it is, it definitely hangs out high up in the sycamore tree…
