I suspect that the badgers who occupy this multistorey sett near Chaumussay are asking for trouble which may lead to them being evicted in a thoroughly unpleasant and sadly permanent way.
This is what the sett looked like in April 2015. Renovations, extensions and general home maintenance have clearly continued apace since then.
The farmer will be worried about his field boundary collapsing on to the road, and so will the roads department and the local council. While I was taking these photos a couple of days ago a truck full of hi-viz clad road workers bombed past on their way to lunch (it was 11.45). I have no doubt they are now fully expecting a complaint about the condition of the road complete with photos from me.
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Swift Evening: The indefatigible Amboise based campaigner for Swift conservation Carolyn Knowlman has organised an evening at Amboise Chateau on Monday 30 November. The aim is to highlight the issues this fabulous bird species is contending with and offer advice on how we can help. Swallows and Martins will also be covered. She is thrilled to have enticed Edward Mayer, President of Swift Conservation as guest speaker. He is one of her heroes in the field. There will also be a speaker from Switzerland and one from the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO). The evening starts at 6.30 pm and will be held in the Salle des lys. Entry is free.
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Tours Station Panels: SNCF have emailed to say that after lengthy negotiations and studies of the ceramic panels in the station at Tours, restoration is set to commence in April 2016 and the first panel will be put back in place sometime during the year. They thank everyone who got involved by donating to the restoration fund. Those people will be publically acknowledged with a plaque listing all the names under the first panel to be returned.
4 comments:
Hope you'll report on the highlights of the Swift presentation. Sounds like it will be very interesting.
Perhaps the road crews could manage to trap the badgers so they could be relocated.
Those badgers have been there for the last twelve years...
Sometimes it looks very bad...
at others, not so...
in 2005, it was spilling across the road...
similar to your last pic...
you had to manoeuver around the pile.
Eventually enough people had driven up against it and the road width was restored.....
it is France... nothing will be done about it unless it causes an accident...
or the bank collapses onto the road...
they have always appeared to be mining in deep chalk...
it may well be stronger than we think!
I'm glad that the plaques seem to be sorted....
and I am also chuffed to see that Carolyn has got a meeting together about the swifts...
I really wish we could get swift boxes up here...
but one barn gable end has the roadway directly in front...
and the other has the laiterie roof....
actually....
I must email her and ask if they can be mounted sideways to the gable end...
if so, we mifgr haev a goer!
I'm not planning to go to the swift evening.
Relocation isn't an option. There wouldn't be anywhere they could be relocated to. The solution will be either as Tim outlines below, or if the situation deteriorates dangerously, a licenced badger hunting group will be sent in to dig them out and kill them.
Her response will be to try them sideways and see what happens over a couple of years. You know how often these creatures don't read the guides.
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