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:

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.

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.

Striped Intruder at Nut Dell!

Last week our trail cameras at Eileen Soper’s Nut Dell caught some remarkable footage of badger behaviour.  

1972 Notes: Of Stoats & Shooting Interests

I heard a curious chittering at the edge of the wheat field.  I froze at once & stood unnoticed by a stoat & her young as they passed, weaving through the stems of still uncut wheat.

A Morning Walk at Nut Dell

I think Peter has been sowing thistles on his amazing, dedicated visits to get those superb pictures on the cameras at Eileen Soper’s Nut Dell.

Drama at Nut Dell!

Drama befell Eileen Soper’s beloved Nut Dell sett this week.  Not stolen cameras, gassing or filling in, but a definite moment in such a small copse.

1957 Notes: Sounds of the Night

There is a curious quality about the night that seems to lend an unexplained beauty to sound. 

Eileen Soper: Discovering The Badger Lady

I was aware of Eileen Soper through her Enid Blyton illustrations and When Badgers Wake, her 1955 book about badgers, but between you and me, her charming, days-of-innocence curb appeal didn’t grab me, until a chance occurrence with an old apple tree.