"D" SHAPED ENTRANCE HOLE

The entrance hole to a badger sett could best be  described as a "Capital D on its side" and has to be the same width going down into the tunnel. If it narrows considerably, then its probably rabbits.  Badgers are hefty animals and they won't fit down a rabbit hole.  They will also brush the sides of the hole  as they travel down into the sett and make the sides look shiny and smooth.

However, badger sett entrances can look different to the usual D shape, so all other signs should be taken into consideration. 

BADGER LATRINES

Badgers are clean, house proud creatures and are the only animals to use an open dung pit as their toilet.

Sometimes these are single dung pits or could be extensive "communal" latrines.  They are often found near the badger setts and also used as territorial markers at boundaries to warn off intruders. 

Finding a latrine at the edge of a wood or field or near a hedge, is a good sign that badgers are about.  The contents of the latrine will also reveal much about their diet which includes earthworms (around 80% of their diet), fallen fruits, beetles, nuts, corn, young mammals, elderberries and bulbs.

SPOIL HEAPS

Badgers are prolific diggers and another sign of an active badger sett and in current use, is the amount of fresh spoil outside the entrance hole.  Amongst the spoil, could be dried grass used for bedding and badger hairs.

The spoil heap may have a furrow created by the badgers as they enter and exit the sett. 

You may also see pawprints of the badger but this depends on the type of soil, but its always worth a look 

BADGER PAW PRINTS

Badgers have very distinctive pawprints.  They are easily recognised by the kidney shaped pads.  Badgers have five toes and very long claws, although sometimes only four claw marks will be seen.

DRIED BEDDING BALLS

Badgers change their bedding quite frequently and it's not unusual to see a rolled up ball of dried bedding material outside a badger sett.  

In woodland,  they have a comical way of collecting bedding, gathering it up in their front paws and dragging it backwards and down into the sett.

In late January/February, I often purchase some bags of clean, dust free meadow hay and take them to badger setts where I know bedding material is sparse.  I leave the hay scattered around the entrances and the next time I visit, it is gone.  

Sows have their cubs in February and I like to think that the warm hay may in a very small way, help them to survive.

FAMILIAR PATHWAYS

Badgers are creatures of habit and follow ancient pathways from their sett to their foraging grounds.

These pathways can be seen in woodland, for example when the bluebells are out, or like in the image opposite, up the side of a banking.  These pathways will be quite wide and the vegetation may be crushed due to the size, weight and closeness to the ground, these animals are. Claw marks are often seen which will confirm it is indeed a badger pathway.

Sadly for badgers, following their ancient pathways can lead to tragedy, especially when new roads, motorways and housing estates are built, as badgers will still try to follow them whatever the obstacles.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

Once you are confident that you have found an active badger sett, perhaps even confirmed it by using a wildlife trail camera, you may wish to visit one evening with your camera.  

It is useful to visit the sett in daylight and brush aside any snappy twigs, crispy leaves or trip hazards.  It's amazing just how silent a forest can be and any noise such as a snapping twig will immediately put the badgers on high alert.

TIP 1:  Do some prep work before your  badger watch/photography session and always approach the sett quietly, no talking, no snapping of twigs underfoot.

WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS

When badgers first emerge, they do not leave their sett immediately.  They spend a few minutes, even longer sometimes, sniffing the air and checking for danger.  If the badger picks up your scent, he will dash back down the sett and won't emerge for probably 20 minutes or until you have gone.  Take something with you to use as a kind of windsock, perhaps a ribbon or pieces of wool.  Anything light and silent which will blow in the wind.

TIP 2:  Always check the wind direction and be downwind of the sett,  check it frequently as wind direction can change.

DISTANCE YOURSELF

Do not walk over a badger sett or position yourself too near the sett.

The badgers will hear you and they will certainly smell you.  A successful badger watch is when the badgers are not aware you are there and it isn't fair to frighten them.

There are various suggestions of just how many metres you need to be away from the sett, some suggest 8 m, others 10m.  Badgers aren't static, they will play and groom and scratch right in front of you and if they don't know you are there and they don't smell you, they will trot past you following familiar paths, (and to their latrine)  

Tip No. 6 - Keep a respectable distance from the badger sett

GOING NUTS OVER NUTS

Badgers go mad for peanuts.  But if you just scatter peanuts on the floor, then the only images you will get will be a badger with it's head down.  

The image on the right with two badgers illustrates this perfectly.  First,  I spread a little peanut butter in a tree and pressed peanuts into the peanut butter.  This encouraged the badger to forage off the floor and with her head up.  The badger feeding on the floor is foraging for peanuts which I have hidden under a log.  His head downand thats how he will stay until every last peanut is gone.  Marmite works just as well but peanut butter is definitely a favourite.

Giving them anything portable like a piece of meat, they will just run off with it and you won't see them again for a while.

Tip No 7:  Place your peanuts and peanut butter where you want the badgers to be, some off the ground or along a fallen log to get a variety of images