Badger

[Dawesy]

Have been watching a family of badgers local to me for many months now and they have become accepting of my presence. I thought I would try and introduce the camera and flash to them this week and this was one of the females having just emerged from the sett. They have four youngsters in the sett that I know of and will try and get a few shots although they did not take kindly to the flash so maybe a slow process.
Badger( Meles meles ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr

[colin C]

Re: Badger

As you say, a slow process, but very worthwhile.

[Trev B]

Re: Badger

Steve, nice shot.

They don't like flash,I always photograph mine in daylight, it takes time but you can get them out in daylight hours

Go as often as you can, take food with you cattle pellets or peanuts, throw a handful in the sett entrance, make a noise, then leave. After about a month carry out the above but stay around, make sure you are down wind of them. You will hopefully gain their confidence. They will be a bit shy at first, the worse thing you can do is start firing away. Let them take stock of the situation, let them find and eat the food. Some years ago I had one (since been flat packed on the road) that would eat from my hand. There is only one problem, you will be photographing in the same location all the time, each shot will be almost the same - at the sett entrance. I've now started to set up a feeding area away from the sett in the woods, they've already found it, although they do come down around the bird feeding station in the garden each night.

I used to use flash some 30 years ago, but never liked the end result - used to use two Sunpac 5000 units with one lesser power overhead. Did it to photograph one for Badger Beer, I coated the neck of the beer bottle with honey, the sow came out, came over to me thinking I had food, I held out the bottle and she licked away, got the shots by remote control - picture was of a badger drinking from a bottle of Badger Beer!

[Dawesy]

Re: Badger

Got them used to me Trev as I have been watching them for over 9 months and they are very comfortable in my presence , i have resisted the urge to take my camera until recently but thought I would try and get a few shots , they come out in the early evening but the sett is in deep woodland with a thick canopy , so whilst the sun is still shining brightly outside it is very dark at the sett hebce the need to try flash

[Trev B]

Re: Badger

Got them used to me Trev as I have been watching them for over 9 months and they are very comfortable in my presence , i have resisted the urge to take my camera until recently but thought I would try and get a few shots , they come out in the early evening but the sett is in deep woodland with a thick canopy , so whilst the sun is still shining brightly outside it is very dark at the sett hebce the need to try flash

Yes that can be a problem, if you've got a heavy canopy. What I have found over the years,badger that have setts adjacent or near main roads are more tolerant to flash than those living say in deep isolated woodland. Its thought the ones near road associate flash with headlights.
Best of luck look forward to seeing the pictures

[Dawesy]

Re: Badger

Yes that can be a problem, if you've got a heavy canopy. What I have found over the years,badger that have setts adjacent or near main roads are more tolerant to flash than those living say in deep isolated woodland. Its thought the ones near road associate flash with headlights.
Best of luck look forward to seeing the pictures

That makes sense Trev , I am hoping in time they will get used to it as they have done with me being there in the first instance , they accept my voice and me moving slowly so hopeful they will accept the odd flash as I do not anticipate taking hundreds of photos

[Trev B]

Re: Badger

Way back in the 1970's I filmed a family of Badgers ,where we used old car headlights to light the sett. It was quite amazing how quick they came to accept the lights each night which was being used for a live broadcast.
At my own sett here, I've got lighting set up but never use it now. It worked on the principle that has the daylight faded the tungsten lighting would increase. The only thing you had to remember was change camera setting from Daylight to Tungsten, or with cine camera remove the filter in those days.

[pelliott1954]

Re: Badger

Nice shot Steve and a very interesting thread to read

Paul

[Dawesy]

Re: Badger

Thanks Paul , it has been a patience game getting this far but worth every minute

[Stan]

Re: Badger

lovely shot, never seen one in the wild other than road kill

Stan

[Dawesy]

Re: Badger

Thanks Stan , I know four different setts local to me but this is the biggest , I have seen 15 at once this year including the four cubs and one of the setts has a number of colour mutation ginger and white adults although it is not conducive to viewing/ photographing due to its location

[Trev B]

Re: Badger

lovely shot, never seen one in the wild other than road kill

Stan

Stan, Amazed you've never seen a wild badger, don't know your area well but there are Badgers at Blashford, or using the area. When I was last there I saw several Latrine areas. The New Forest is another good area, one sett that is quite easy to observe and get too is near to Eyeworth Pond.
Park in the car park at the pond and then walk up the track for about half a mile, this is the track that takes you up onto the B3078. When you get to the end of the wooded area and onto the heathland start heading to your left and follow the line of the woodland into Eyeworth Wood, you cant miss the sett, its large. We were there last year and had seven badgers out. Good idea to take some peanuts to throw down or better still Peanut Butter and smear it about. You would need to get there at this time of year at about 2100 hrs - and make sure you are down wind of the sett.