Badger Watching

A new Mammal Hide was constructed in 2006 after 15 years using an old converted stable at Tewin Orchard. Between April and October the hide is available to book in the evening, when individuals or small groups can visit to try their luck at seeing badgers, foxes, muntjac deer, bats and rabbits at twilight.

Seeing wild mammals at night from the hide depends a good deal on how silent and still the watchers are in the hide. Badgers can hear whispering and talking many metres away and may simply stay out of sight until the watchers have gone.

When you book you will be given clear instructions on where to park and how to access the hide.

You will need to walk quietly down to the hide about half an hour before dusk. Some watchers wait several hours, so remember to wrap up well in dark clothing even in hot weather because sitting, waiting, cools the body and night temperatures can drop considerably. Food is left out at the hide by the wardens each evening and the area is illuminated, but the animal life present is always wary. Bats have found the lighting a useful source of insect food and may swoop past the windows.

The two cottages next to the reserve are owned privately. All enquiries about the Mammal Hide must only be made to the Hertfordshire & Middlesex Wildlife Trust or The Hertfordshire & Middlesex Badger Group.

Please leave the car park quietly so as not to disturb nearby homes.

Booking information:

Watching sessions at the Mammal Hide must be booked in advance. No other access is permitted to the nature reserve after dusk. You can find full details of how and when to book the hide on the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust website - https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/badgerwatching.

Links:

Herts and Middlesex Badger Group (www.hmbadgergroup.org.uk) - is a voluntary organisation dedicated to all aspects of the badger in the two counties.

The Fox Website (www.thefoxwebsite.org) - information on all aspects of red fox ecology, management and human conflict.