April 23rd: A Special Anniversary

April 23^rd is a very special date for us at Badger Diaries, because 67 years ago today on Monday April 23^rd 1951 Eileen Soper made her first diary entry detailing her first badger watch at Nut Dell:

January’s Herts Nature Watch

The dawn of a new wildlife year is always an exciting time.

February: Badgers Giving Birth

 

Badger cubs will be born two months after the blastocysts have implanted in December

1973 Notes: A Dawn Chorus

January 25th 1973:

The song thrushes singing early.  It was scarcely light outside when I sat down to breakfast. 

1971: The Diminishing Bearded Tit

This was a dreary morning early in January, with overcast skies & the air much colder than I had expected, but I could not, through circumstances, choose when I would do my bird watching.

December’s Herts Nature Watch

Easterly winds are important at this time of year, particularly if you are a thrush in Scandinavia just waiting for a good tailwind to push you westward over the North Sea to Britain.

1971 Notes: The Night Heron

 

“Any News?” is a question that often passes between members of the County Trust, & on that dull December morning, brought an immediate response: Had I seen the night heron!  The bird had been watched in the local reserve during the past but was now thought to have gone.

December: Badgers & Delayed Implantation

What does ‘delayed implantation’ mean?  Both sows with cubs and those having their first oestrus will be able to mate and keep fertilized eggs, or blastocysts, unattached in the uterus in a state of suspended development.

Badgers and the Countryfile Controversy

On the latest episode at time of writing, BBC Countryfile has now examined the bTB cull figures for whether there has been a drop in the disease in cattle in the areas where this has taken place.

October’s Herts Nature Watch

Experiencing the countryside and seeing what it has to offer for our well-being is a cool thing to do.