Country diary: Achvaneran, Highlands: They mesmerised me in the wonder of being so close to them feeding

Achvaneran, Highlands: Smaller badgers, uneasy at sharing their snack, fled when the doe appeared, but the biggest and most dominant barely hesitated before starting to eatThe first two badgers appeared earlier than usual, so there was no need for me to use the red filtered torch to see them. They were eating the peanuts I had put out earlier on top of an old oak stump only 3 metres from the window at the end of the house.When I first started feeding them I thought they would eat the peanuts very quickly but, as usual, these two were picking up one or two and chewing them carefully. They began to mesmerise me in the wonder of being so close to them feeding away but then, suddenly, possible confrontation. Continue reading...