Fieldnotes: 7th July 2010 - badgers dig out bumble bees and eat them, Bird Table NewsWasp nest dug out by badger

I have been taking advantage of the long, warm evenings to sneak out after work for a quick walk around the field behind my house.I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the stoat itself.

I had no luck with the stoat or the tracking.I can't make out any clear tracks because the ground is baked hard.I barely leave a mark on the clay.I don't know what has passed by after the dust has been disturbed.A stoat would leave very little trace.

There is always something to be seen in a field like this.The field is on the beat of a badger.I have not seen its tracks in a while, but I did find one of its feeding signs.The only animals that will do this are the badgers.They are not after the adult wasp.badgers are not good for dry spells.They need to look for alternative sources of food because it is harder to find and dig up worms.The nest of the swastika is ideal.

It must have been dug out last night.There was nothing to see when I walked past yesterday.There were a few wasp in the nest, but it had been dug out.

I did not get close.I don't want to be stung by a wasp.I hate the little horrors because I suffer from an allergy to wasp sting that makes me swell up like a balloon.The Badgers have no such problems.Some people think their thick fur protects them from sting.They can eat all the wasp they want.

We had a wasp nest which I was due to deal with, but we looked out of our kitchen window this morning and there was just a big hole.We suspected badgers, but you have confirmed it.It was annoying for the badger.All the grubs were prevented from being eaten by a root.A big thank you to the badger.

At this time of year, feeding on wasp nest is something that happens.One of the badgers has more useful habits.

The baders and wasp nest were commented on.I couldn't decide if the wasp nest was caused by a fox or badger.I've never seen a badger in this area, but it's encouraging to know they are important.Rob is fond of him.

Thanks for the interesting discussions.I found two wasp nest which had been dug up and torn to pieces near Tideswell in the Peak District while I was at "Bellamy's Bank" yesterday.What animal could do this?badgers is the more likely explanation, I thought to myself.

I've come across the same thing, a wasp nest dug from the ground.I have been wondering if it's a fox or a badger.The nest I found a couple of weeks ago was close to a long line of badger setts.I know that the marsh foxes spend a lot of time around the badger setts, but I haven't been able to find distinct paw prints to identify the culprit.I would say badger.

I have an outdoor space in sheffield.I left the wasp nest alone in my compost heap so I could dig out the compost in the winter.Today, October 18th, I went to look at the compost heap and found that a lot of the nest had been demolished by an animal.I am not familiar with the area having badgers, but I think it is a badger.I thought the hole was too big for our prickly friends, but I was wrong.It is nice to know that badgers are abundant in an urban area.

It sounds like a badger.I am not aware of any other British animal that digs out wasp colonies.I think urban badgers are becoming more common.They seem to be able to live under our noses without being noticed.