Today was the first time this year that I've got close to the Badgers that come into the garden. The weather hasn't been conducive to waiting outside for an unscheduled arrival and I was away for almost three weeks in April. I know they've been around, because we have a bowl on the lawn where we put some treats for their supper.
Tonight a pale badger, that may have been a young male arrived at around 10 p.m..A second Badger was also around but I suspect that this one was somewhat shyer and was aware that I was lurking in the shadows.
The first Badger headed towards the goodies pot, hardly pausing to check what the camera noise was all about.
Tonight the tit bits were the standard Peanuts, but yesterday was different. When I got back from Los Angeles, Pam was child minding in Walthamstow and being very kind to a weary traveller she'd left some of my favourites in the fridge. Somehow I missed a rather nice Strawberry jelly, with real strawberries. I did eat some of the next day, but I was then a little worried that it was past it's eat by date. However the Badger had no such fears when he found it and it disappeared quickly as is usual with these voracious eater.
As I said tonight's badger was rather pale, but not at all worried by me lying on the grass as he hoovered up the stray peanuts I'd spread on the grass.
I don't think that I've seen any of the local Badgers with a tail this colour before. It seems to be partly erythristic. For a Badger with this genetic variation see this film on U-tube.
Although this Badger is uncharacteristically pale in some areas it is only around its tail and rump that it looks particularly reddish. I'm hoping to get pictures of the different individuals that come to see us, but they are rather irregular with their time keeping so I may well miss some.
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