Buzz Beeman – the blog

Another MURDER in the woods .

midsummer

Dont worry guys this time its not another badger sett being attacked, it was 6 Ravens on the edge of the woods, what a noise these birds make it was like something out of a hitchcock film, unmistakable my friend and I have been watching the crows and these had a darker beak, bigger and crows tend to be solitary birds or in in pair, most definately a ”murder” 6 ravens making a racket. Another good find today was a yellowhammer a red listed bird now in danger , I have a picture but its poor but you can tell what it is. We set of this morning at 4 30 am today being the longest day I thought i’d make the most of it, I went to check up on a badger sett I monitor regularly and well what can Í say ,Im not going to say too much detail for obvious reasons, but they were fine, new holes and the old ones were much bigger, Íve enclosed some photos and will post some video footage.

a rather large hole

I also came accross something attacking the bark of trees, I have already come accross unusual stripping of bark on beech and sycamore trees at floor level this I am reliably told is badgers , they love the sweet sap that these trees produce, high up squirrells and about shoulder hight with fraying at the top of the attacks is deer,which I have also been reliably told by not one, but a few people, this is because no top teeth means they gnaw upwards leaving a frayed edge at the top. (thankyou Pablo)

badger ?

When I got home I was greeted by half a dozen young goldfinches and also found traces of hedghog poo in the garden, I would say a great start to the longest day, this afternoon its a apiary visit and I”m taking care of all the visitors which we have now limited to 5, so not so bad, report to follow so check this space later on.

deer damage

I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful place, all I have to do when I take the dog for a walk is out my door and I am into the wood a short walk and then a scramble down the valley which then brings me out to a large field which sometimes is used to play football on , I think its great for my dog Jethro gives him chance to run up and down and then up and down again. The cricket club, bowling green and tennis courts are all down there too, it will great for my my 5 yr old son Cameron when he gets a little older. I can then walk alongside the river all the way down to Brockholes the abundance of wildlife is fantastic, occasionally badgers wonder into this territory but down by the river here its a stronghold for the foxes, I know this because ive seen the foxes watch me when I walk the dog on an evening and I also know where there den is, its an old badger outlier sett which is at the base of a tree, the hole is massive and seems to go down vertically. The bird life alongside the river has sandmartins, kingfisher, herons and the good old dipper to mention but a few, in the woods there are goldcrests, woodpeckers, linnets, recently redpoles and the wood warbler again to mention but a few, around 50 different spicies of birds at the last count, also along the river you can see how at one time the river was used by industry, it is said there were more millionaires per head of population in Holmfirth than anywhere else in the country including London. Steeped in history is the valley, another reason why this short walk is so great and combined with heavy rainfalls we have , which makes the river swell and then you can see not only how beautiful nature is down the valley but also how powerful it can be, yes I am very lucky to live here.

Brockholes is a small village in West Yorkshire, England in the administrative area of Kirklees Metropolitan Council and Holme Valley Parish Council. It is within the Postal district of Holmfirth.

The A616 route between Huddersfield and Penistone passes directly through the village and the A628 Woodhead Road passes down the valley on its westward side. Central to the village is a small green set back from the A616 by some terraced housing, and overlooked by a church, a chapel and the village hall, formerly the village school. A more modern junior and infants school now exists a little further up the road to the local Railway station, which has a direct link between Huddersfield and Sheffield on the Penistone Line.

It is a semi-rural area mostly consisting of farms with a large housing area, some of which has been built on the former premises of Rock Mills which was only one of several large textile mills. There was also a spinning works, shoddy mill, and a textile machinery engineering works, though now only the latter still exists.

It was once home to Brook (Electric) Motors, which was acquired by the Hawker Siddeley Group. The factory produced the motors to turn the gears, made by David Brown Gears in Lockwood, which turned the revolving restaurant at the top of the Post Office Tower in London. The factory has now closed down and the buildings have been divided up into a number of smaller units. Other former businesses included Ben Shaws, a soft drinks manufacturers, the old K&M Candle factory, taken over by shoe polish manufacturer Kiwi, and eventually closed down, and Norton Scientific Instruments. It has two Public Houses: The Rock Inn and the Travellers Rest, plus some small general village shops, a post office, and a number of larger businesses springing up in the industrial units of the old Rock Mill site. These include caravan sales, an electrical wholesalers, and a car registration plate business. More recently the local fuel station has been bought out by a national chain and refurbished to include a mini supermarket.

Village folklore purports that the village was named after the extensive network of badger setts that used to exist in the surrounding woodlands, Brock being an old English name for a badger. Today just a few, well-hidden setts still exist, carefully watched over by a local badger watchers.

Its was 96 % full moon last night a good night for watching , there is more to watching than going out just before dusk and waiting outside a sett to get a glimpse of a badger, when you know a few social groups in particularly close proximity, you can go out at any time of the night and have a good chance where you are likely to see badgers, i went out last night about 11 30 pm and within 10 mins i got a shot of a badger, i know the group well, but it was good luck, the night was dark the sky never cleared and i was back home within half an hour, not bad going , it tells me how well I have come to know the badgers in my area.

Welcome to Buzzbeeman’s blog . I intend to use this as a diary of my wildlife experiences .