Went back to the sett across the river, with weather overcast and no wind, making it difficult to decide where to sit to make sure that my scent was not carried towards the sett. As I climbed the bank at the mouth of the valley, I disturbed a pair of tawny owls who flew off around the corner to the wood lining the bluff overlooking the river.

I settled down at about 7.50 p.m. in reasonable light, as I expected them to be up ten minutes earlier than last time – about 8 o’clock. However, the light worsened with no action from the sett, until in very dim light at 8.20, I spotted a badger coming down the bank from the group of holes at the top. Rats! I didn’t see which one he came from, but it definitely wasn’t the one they all used last week.

A few minutes later, a second came down from the same direction, joining the first one in a hole with plenty of freshly excavated soil in front of it.

This was annoying – from last week’s visit, I thought I knew the hole at which I could expect cubs shortly, and now I didn’t. Even worse – a light wind came, and was blowing my scent directly towards the hole they had gone down. After a while, one of them came up, sniffed the air worriedly, and hastened back up the slope and under the barbed wire into the field. So – they are using the hole out in the field!

Eventually, when I was about to leave at 8.35 p.m., up came a badger from the hole I saw them from last week, followed shortly by a second. I could just make them out with my binoculars as they scratched themselves and groomed each other. I then left, feeling confident that I will see cubs emerge from that hole before long.

As I walked back along the river bank, tawny owls were hooting and kee-wicking from several directions. When I go into the wood next time, I must try to spot them in the trees before I get close enough to scare them into flight and see if I can get some video footage of them.