Mammal traces

One of the reasons birds are so popular is that you see them about the place and even in a dense wood you can hear them.

Most wild mammals, on the other hand,are rather secretive and many are nocturnal, so if you are studying them you need to look out for footprints, burrows, prey remains and poos.

This generous contribution appeared on a flower pot in my garden.

I collected them and pulled them apart to see what food the donor had been eating.  It was just vegetable matter, like potting compost, so not a carnivore.  Too big for a squirrel, I thought (they often plant hazel nuts and walnuts in our flower pots) and fairly sweet-smelling so it could be a badger.  But badgers usually use latrine sites near their homes.

Any helpful suggestions to jjdicker@blueyonder.co.uk.

PS a different, brown pile of poo appeared on the grass.  I couldn't identify that one either but inside was a busy beetle.  dung beetles are important tidier-uppers of dung, which their larvae feed on.  So I left the assemblage undisturbed - for now at least.