Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Steppingley-Woburn Road

Driving back to Ampthill with Carole after a pleasant afternoon spent in Woburn yesterday, I pointed out my 'Polecat-layby', referring to the hours I have spent there these past months waiting for that all-elusive sighting (after finding a dead Polecat close by and Badger-watching Man seeing a live one at exactly the same spot the following day). A few hundred metres up the road we rounded the corner and came across this...
...another dead Polecat! Carole's used to being left in farm gateways while I examine an interesting corpse in the road, and she waited patiently as I retraced my steps to check this one. I didn't have any kit to examine it properly, but it looked like a juvenile. Interestingly, there was also a dead Stoat nearby.

I'd already planned to spend some time in this area yesterday evening, and enjoyed a pleasant hour driving up and down this road between 11pm and midnight - the Dire Straits album gave just the right ambience! No Polecats, but I did chalk up a load of Rabbits, 1 Chinese Water Deer, 3 Wood Mice and a black and white Cat!

2 comments:

  1. Another dead polecat? It is quite a hotspot, although unfortunately the cars do seem to be taking their toll.

    Looking at the map, the layby is on a strip of woodland that joins much larger woods. I think it may be acting as a corridor for animals moving through the area. Hopefully this means that there'll be more polecats sooner or later.

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  2. Hi there BWM,

    I've got to pick my son up late tonight following his Wembley Muse concert. I'm going to have a drive up and down the road again...you never know!
    I bought some children's play sand from Argos yesterday with a view to putting some more down in that area, too. I've spent so many hours there....makes you realise how you were just in the right place at the right time when you saw the live one!! :-)

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