Watched the weather forecasts last week, and the wind was from the northeast all the time – no good for the Double Wood sett. On Saturday evening, the wind was from the northwest, and a check of the map showed that it might do, so off I went.

I crossed the stream in the bottom of the wood, climbed the bank up to the sett, and settled with my back to a tree a few yards from the main hole. What wind there was came and went, and was carrying my scent to the left of the hole in front of me. If the badgers came up from the main hole and moved off to the right as they usually did, all would be well.

Ten minutes later, a badger appeared at a hole to my left and trotted across in front of me, disappearing down the main hole. He really should have smelt me! A few minutes later, a badger backed out of the hole, snarling and whickering in play with another – this family has always been very relaxed, and their behaviour showed that they must have forgotten about the interference by badger diggers.

However, the wind had died entirely, and my scent must have been diffusing out from me in all directions, so inevitably, both badgers stopped playing and started sniffing the air anxiously. Eventually, they retreated down the hole, and I slipped away in order to cause no further disturbance.