Badger Field Signs

	Badger sett spoil heap and skull recently excavated from underground

Learn to recognise Badger field signs, and enjoy a sense of close proximity to Badgers without ever seeing the animals.

Here are some examples of what to look out for:

Badger Setts
Badger setts often have a large number of entrances - sometimes in excess of 40. To assist drainage, Badger setts are often on sloping ground, and in the New Forest, many are near grassland or cultivated land which provides a better prospect of food than the infertile New Forest soils.

Badger sett entrances are noticeably bigger than rabbit burrow entrances. Spoil heaps, too, are often large, with furrows down the centre that mark the route used during excavation and subsequent, repeated Badger passage.

Badger-created undulations are often visible on both sloping and otherwise flat ground – these are the sites of old spoil heaps.

Look out, too, on the spoil heaps for bones excavated from deep underground where past Badger generations have died.

	Badger latrine showing beetle wing cases

Badger toilets - latrines
Badgers are tidy animals that use shallow pits, latrines, in which to deposit their often stodgy droppings. These latrines are often located near the sett, and also occur around territory boundaries where they give notice of occupation to potential Badger intruders.

Content and appearance of Badger droppings reflect diet. Two examples are illustrated here. The first contains large numbers of beetle wing cases, whilst the contents of the second, perhaps more typical Badger dropping, are beyond recognition.

	More typical Badger latrine

	Badger footprint on soft ground close to a sett in a woodland inclosure

Look out also for Badger claw marks on tree trunks and stumps around the sett – Badgers habitually leave deep scratches in fallen and standing timber.

	Badger-created gap under a fence

Badger diggings under fences
Badgers are incredibly strong, habitual diggers. Much to the annoyance of owners, fences are regularly dug through or under. On regularly used routes, blocking the way is often to no avail – the Badger simply digs and damages again.

Hedgehog remains

	All that remains of a Badger's hedgehog feast

In Britain, Badgers are one of the hedgehog’s few, regular natural predators. Look out for hedgehog skins and spines, the remains of a tasty Badger meal.

	The remains of a honeycomb found near a Badgers' sett

Honeycombs
Badgers regularly attack bees’ nests – the Badgers eat the larvae, pupae and stored honey, and leave damaged honeycombs as evidence of their work.

References:
The Natural History of Badgers, Ernest Neal
Collins Field Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Europe: David Macdonald and Priscilla Barrett
Collins Guide to Animal Tracks and Signs: Preben Bang and Preben Dahlstrom