Badgers...

bartimaeus

...are like buses - you don't see one for ages and then two turn up at the same time. I haven't seen a badger since the summer, but tonight I saw two - the first of which nearly collided with me as it tried to cross the path... it ended up running alongside my front wheel for 10m before getting ahead and making a break for the bushes.

Not much else to be seen - no deer and no owls tonight, but plenty of rustling in undergrowth and some VERY loud pheasants.

Well pleased with tonight's adventure - I do love night riding!

Anonymous

Only badgers I see are dead ones, but I don't do night rides.

Convinced it's farmers who kill them and dump them on the road to blame drivers.

Mushrooms.

miss notax

Lots of wildlife in the forest tonight, but sadly no badgers! Lots of ponies, deer and something that sounded like it should be living in rainforest (my vote was a lemur - although I accept this is quite unlikely in the New Forest )

We did see a little owl (apparently that's actually their name) last week, hopping about in the undergrowth, which was amazing to see

bartimaeus

miss notax wrote:

We did see a little owl...

Good spot!

Giraffoto

I have to agree that most badgers I see are dead on the roads - particularly sad this time of year when the youngsters are turning up amongst them. I mainly see deer and foxes in the woods at night, plus the odd bunny - I've only seen badgers a couple of times

RevellRider

deadkenny wrote:

Only badgers I see are dead ones, but I don't do night rides.

Same here.

I usually notice birds more than animals running around under foot. There was a couple of buzzards circling overhead on my last ride the other week

Thewaylander

What your roughly saying though is, a badger over took on the trail!! thats poor show my friend :P

oodboo

deadkenny wrote:

Mushrooms.

+1

.blitz

A random grey furball fell from a branch right in front of my face the other night, I barely had time to flinch. It gave a little groan as it bounced off the top tube and I felt it brush against my leg as it fell.

Have heard quite a few things being killed in the woods this year I know it's nature and all that but hearing something fighting for its life is pretty grim. Remember there's nothing there at night that isn't there during the day except it's awake and hungry.

angry_bird

Badgers?

jehosophat

I see the odd badger. They often trundle along slowly right in my way, they might as well be saying "not bovvered" for all the concern they show about a bike on their tail.

I hear loads of tawny owls too, and have started shining the head torch up a bit into likely trees on the edges of safer sections - plenty of tawnies sit there a few metres off the ground.

Deer are everywhere around here - one very nearly had me off the other day, in daylight...

1mancity2

No badgers but, do get lots of owls and foxs around were we live/ride, deer are sometimes spotted but not often.

bartimaeus

Thewaylander wrote:

What your roughly saying though is, a badger over took on the trail!! thats poor show my friend :P

Maybe... but I don't think it's a good idea to race the wildlife as the 'best case' outcome is that you can claim to have scalped a badger.

sloppycowpat

there was a fox in my garden last night and a sparrow hawk this morning

Thewaylander

Bartimaeus wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

What your roughly saying though is, a badger over took on the trail!! thats poor show my friend :P

Maybe... but I don't think it's a good idea to race the wildlife as the 'best case' outcome is that you can claim to have scalped a badger.

Worst case a badger nailed you up :P

Nick Cod

Never seen any out on the ride

Pleanty of buzzards, deer, foxes, owls and the odd bat in the warmer months.

Chalky76

we get a lot of Muntjac's at our local woods, not as big as a normal deer but big enough to cause concern when they leap out in front of you! Saw three owls the other night all sat on a branch together, that was quite cool.

tenfoot

Had the same a few months back on a nightride.

We went along a piece of singletrack and a badger jumped out and ran along in front of us and disappeared.

On the way back, same piece of single track but in the opposite direction, same thing happened.

Weird - haven't seen it since.

We did ride past someone's watch (presumably) beeping in the undergrowth last night. We had a look around but couldn't find it, as it stopped. Just hope there wasn't a body attached to it.

diy

Dear is the biggest problem for me - they run in random directions which sometimes includes directly at you. Also quite a few doggers and cottagers out at night too.

pilch

Never seen any badgers, despite one of our local rides going over the top of an established set... but my mate lives on a narrow boat and his neighbour is an otter - does that count?

cooldad

Do beavers count?

Anonymous

Not being the Crud, I'll resist it.

Anyway, weekdays are interesting for wildlife. Very few people about and find a lot more wildlife about than the weekend. Mainly deer. Other day hurtling along, and round nearly each corner there's a load of rustling and a deer blots off, thankfully not into my path though I've had that before with the thing jumping about in front of me trying to work out how to get away. A lot of squirrels dashing across the trails too. Only run over a squirrel once.

cooldad

I had a pigeon (try and) fly through the front wheel of a motorcycle once. Very messy.

jehosophat

Yes, weekday riding is the best, some more "working form home" than usual recently has been great! That was when I had my deer incident last week, I startled it along a fast bit of singletrack and it ran in the thin strip of woods alongside the path for a while before ignoring the field to the left and deciding it's best course of action was to cross the path in front of me then stop right in my way. Brown trouser moment...

I am convinced a rabbit is going to have me off the bike some time, they are always bolting back across my path, if you hit one with the bike leaned over I am sure it would be trouble...

snotty badger

I got quite up close to a red squirrel on my way back from Whinlatter today, I like seeing the red ones- death to all greys!

diy

pilch wrote:

Never seen any badgers, despite one of our local rides going over the top of an established set... but my mate lives on a narrow boat and his neighbour is an otter - does that count?

Be careful with that as you could get prosecuted - its a criminal offence.

Anonymous

Badgers set up home under an established jump round this way. Mountain bikers got the blame for it with even the police involved (not specifically to do with the badgers but that was part of it and in the press coverage).