The foxes in my garden are very polite eaters and take one peanut at a time but a badger eats more like a vacuum cleaner. This one didn't finish them all but turned round and went back the way it had come. (The noise in the background is a few hundred rooks and jackdaws settling down to roost in the woods.)
It was replaced almost immediately by a second badger but that one also turned round and was replaced by a third. I couldn't see what was happening on the bank but it was almost as if they were taking turns and making way for each other.
After a couple of minutes vacuuming the third one reversed and left and was replaced by a fourth badger coming from the opposite bank. This one fed for a couple of minutes and turned and left. It was replaced by a fifth animal which finished off any remaining peanuts. (I can tell the different individuals on the videos from the different markings on their faces or different muddy marks on their noses.)
Up until this point none of the five badgers had gone right across the bridge but a few minutes later number 5 did so. He found a peanut that had been missed and also spotted the camera.
The next action on the camera was at 10.30pm when a fox came onto the bridge. After sniffing for a moment it looked up and saw the glow from the camera and ran off across the bridge. You can see how much taller a fox is than a badger.
After that there were nine badger crossings between 00.40 and 03.30 but it isn't possible to say how many individuals there were. It is certain, however, that there were at least five during the course of the night so this local clan is in good shape. Two badgers spotted the camera on their way across the bridge but neither seemed concerned as the fox had been.
It is interesting how confident the badgers were walking across the bridge. As you can see it is no wider than a badger, yet they happily trot across in the pitch dark, unconcerned by the 2m drop to the stream below. This one may have dropped a peanut.
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