My 50 years watching Badgers

admin
, 07 March 2024
My 50 years watching Badgers
Badger © Bob Eade

Bob 'BadgerBob' Eade

Back in 1974, at the age of 15, I found a Badger sett at Offham near Lewes. A couple of evenings later, on 19th February, I prepared to wait until I had seen my very first Badger.

I didn't have to wait too long, as at 6pm, a Badger walked along a path near where I was standing, before going down a large entrance to the sett about 10 feet in front of me. A few minutes later it came out again and wandered down the bank where it went out of view. After that, according to my notes of the evening, it made a large noise! That was without a doubt an evening that changed my life, as I started studying this iconic animal, seeing them at several sites in the vicinity, mostly travelling by foot or pushbike.

Badger cub © Bob Eade
Badger cub © Bob Eade


I was so mad about them that my nickname at school was BadgerBob.

I kept notes of every evening right up until my 151st evening on 5th April 1976. I slowed down a bit as by then I had met my [late] wife Penny. However, I still went quite frequently, and had many memorable evenings of Badger watching with friends and family members. I remember vividly taking my Dad. He was sitting up one tree whilst I was up another. We were both looking at a Badger, but not the same one. We were both pointing to the one we were looking at wondering why the other one wasn't taking any notice!

I must have spent well over 2000 hours over the years watching these wonderful animals. It brings much pleasure knowing my sons Matt and Chris enjoy watching them too.

 I have rarely taken photographs of them, however. 

As my 50th anniversary of seeing my first Badger came nearer I wondered if I could see a Badger on the 19th February this year. I got to the sett in plenty of time and waited, and waited. Unfortunately, after all the plans, the Badgers had different ideas and stayed in until I had given up, after three hours. On the way back to the car however, a Badger was seen on the path some distance away, which was a great relief. 

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Carol Head:

    Thanks. Lovely. Never seen one. Probably not patient enough!

    09 Mar 2024 17:42:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1791573810.61370 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1791573810.64930.0356Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1791573810.64940.0001Server address: 216.73.216.207
1791573810.64940Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1791573810.64950Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/my-50-years-watching-badgers
    [s] => my-50-years-watching-badgers
    [1] => my-50-years-watching-badgers
)
1791573810.64970.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1791573810.65070.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1791573810.65290.0022 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1791573810.65370.0008INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1791573810.65840.0047 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=25059762
1791573810.65920.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=25059762
1791573810.66020.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-10-09 19:23:00' AND saleTo>'2026-10-09 19:23:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1791573810.66150.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='my-50-years-watching-badgers')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-09 19:23:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1791573810.66570.0043 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1791573810.66640.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3325 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-09 19:23:00'
1791573810.66750.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1791573810.66840.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1791573810.66920.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=91 LIMIT 1
1791573810.670.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1791573810.67020.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1791573810.67130.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-09 19:23:00' AND postSlug='my-50-years-watching-badgers'
1791573810.70050.0292Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1791573810.70090.0004 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1791573810.70290.002Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1791573810.70320.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1791573810.70450.0013 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1791573810.70620.0017 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1791573810.71090.0048 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1791573810.71170.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1791573810.71460.0028Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1791573810.71460 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1791573810.71530.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1791573810.71560.0003 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1791573810.71740.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1791573810.71830.0009 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1791573810.71890.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1791573810.72120.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1791573810.72230.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1791573810.72530.003 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1791573810.72580.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1791573810.7260.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1791573810.72690.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1791573810.72730.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='my-50-years-watching-badgers')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-09 19:23:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1791573810.73090.0036 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1791573810.73160.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1791573810.73360.002Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1791573810.73450.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3325 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1791573810.81040.0758 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1791573810.8110.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1791573810.81120.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1791573810.8120.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1791573810.81270.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1791573810.81330.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1791573810.81550.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1791573810.81610.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1791573810.8180.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1791573810.81880.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1791573810.81940.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1791573810.81990.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1791573810.82220.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1791573810.82270.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1791573810.82470.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1791573810.82790.0033 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1791573810.82870.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1791573810.82920.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1791573810.83140.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1791573810.83210.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1791573810.83410.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1791573810.83630.0023 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1791573810.8370.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1791573810.83750.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1791573810.83980.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1791573810.84040.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1791573810.84230.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1791573810.84340.0011Request time: 0.2311
1791573810.84340Process time: 0.2309
1791573810.84340Memory: 1.623