Nature walks.

Part one.

Many animals and quite a few birds make their home`s underground. So while you are out and about walking in various habitats, i am going to tell you what to look out for.

Badger sets - Look out for large holes (normally eight inches or more). Their will be quite a few holes spread out on a hill side, where established runs converge. Chewed up blue- bell bulbs in spring, excavated earth or nettles and elder trees are a few other signs of a badger earth as well.

Rabbit warrens- Their will be numerous burrows  (about four inches wide each) that will be made in disturbed barren ground. Look out for their droppings on high points, as this is the way they mark their territory.

A kingfisher hole- Kingfishers make a solitary hole in a river bank. They will mark the entrance  by bird droppings. Look out for the male during spring bringing fish to the female at the nest. He will normally bring fish to a over hanging branch by the nest and wait for the female to come and collect it. This will either be for his courtship display,or for the female to feed her chicks. Also look out for lots of droppings around the hole. You can tell by the way he has the fish in his beak whether he will be eating the fish or whether he will passing the fish to the female or to the chicks. The fish `s head will be facing outwards if he is going to give the fish to someone else or the fish`s tail will be facing outwards if he is going to eat the fish hgimself.

Water vole burrows- Although these little mammals are now extremely rare, there are programmes to re-introduce them back into the wild in Britain. They have declined dramatically over the last twenty years or so mainly down to the mink, who itself has established lots of territories around brooks,rivers and canals.
They make their small holes (about three inches wide ) in the river bank and they are linked by surface runs. Look out for grass that has been chewed down the stem or listen out for a plop as they enter the water.