Predators Paradise

Autumn and winter are without doubt the best time of year to search for predatory mammals, in my experience. The combination of large amounts of pheasants being released for shooting, predator densities being at a peak and vegetation dying back, means you can usually reliably find some signs or if you're lucky and willing to put in the time in see the animals themselves. The landscape around the southern escarpments of the North York Moors has just about every predatory mammal species in Britain available (in good densities) despite gamekeeper pressure. Knowing where to look can provide good results. Species include red fox, otter, badger, weasel, stoat and mink, in addition pine marten continue to be reported in the region too.  Polecats have yet to extend this far east in any real density, however when they do, provided persecution is low the habitat is more than suitable to support them as well.

With the wind not looking promising for migrant birds and few reports turning up, I decided to head inland on a recce. I now have a camera capable of taking decent photos, combined with some bushcraft it would be a nice winter project to photograph some of our more elusive inhabitants. However before doing so, to save time, finding a suitable area is important. Knowing this region well I already had an idea of places which support good predator (and importantly) prey densities. Rather than sitting and waiting, I decided to rove across a valley which supports a wide range of habitat types, importantly mixed woodland, pasture, rough grassland, rivers and streams.

Red Fox - Red foxes are extremely easy to locate, home ranges are well marked and scats are placed in prominent positions. Realistically foxes are probably more easily targeted in urban areas these days and are probably not as high on my agenda as the mustelids. Without really looking I found what probably constitutes to a territory in the region walked. Despite high gamekeeper pressure in this area foxes have enough woodland retreats to escape too, although numbers are probably continually suppressed.

Otter - The rivers and to a lesser extent the streams in this area, hold a number of active territories. Hopefully this winter I will be able to get closer to a photograph by looking for signs. With river levels being high up until recently a lot of the signs were difficult to find as they had been washed away. However I did manage the footprint of a female/immature in some sandy substrate besides the river, indicative of recent post flood activity. Since otters range so far, knowing exactly which aras of the river they use most often could be crucial to getting a photograph.  



Otter print - Otters are well distributed throughout this part of North Yorkshire

Badger - Badgers more so than foxes are super abundant within this region. Setts typically being situated on the wooded convex slopes of the surrounding valley sides, which provide cover and are out of the clay zone, offering a more desirable soil structure, less prone to flooding. Badger presence can soon be determined by checking paths, tracks and damp patches for footprints. In this case where the track ran into a copse, prints passed across it as the animal had moved through the tree cover then out into the pasture to feed on worms. Already knowing several setts in the area, probably produces the greatest chance of a photograph, however the species nocturnal nature and the shade cast by closed canopy tree cover, makes getting one difficult, without a flash.

Weasel & Stoat - Two species which are often seen by chance rather than design. However knowing where to look and knowing where densities are high, significantly increases those chances. Stoats and weasels are both common in this area, cover is abundant for nesting in and prey is also numerous. Stoats occupy the niche above weasels in targeting small/medium prey like game birds and rabbits, weasels tend to target smaller mammals and frequently raid birds nests. In total I managed 3 stoats and 1 weasel, with only a single distant photo from the stoat, highlighting the difficult task of photographing these animals. Stoats are extremely inquisitive (as are foxes, weasels and mink). If you think you may have seen one, it is always worth trying to squeak it. A technique hard to describe, which basically involves drawing air through the mouth to create a squeaking sound. In this case the stoat which had disappeared into a hedge base reappeared and began to approach me, I crouched to appear less of a threat, however the animal soon realised and made a hasty retreat.  

Finally the last species I managed to record (in approximately 2mile²) was American mink. Very much an enemy of British conservation, albeit a very photogenic one. This part of North Yorkshire is a mink stronghold, don't believe the hype about otters moving them on, they don't! Undoubtedly otters are a negative factor on mink populations, but the two only marginally compete, it is the polecat spreading from the east which perhaps holds the true test for the minks resolve, and provides a larger amount of interspecific competition. Regardless mink have been trapped and shot here for years by the water bailiffs and gamekeepers to no avail. This animal had followed a small tributary up into an area of pasture, where the pheasants will undoubtedly provide an easier foraging opportunity, than the trout  further down the valley, in the river. Mink are far more terrestrial than a lot of the literature suggests, males in particular regularly disperse across watersheds and feed away from water on prey like rabbits and pheasants.

Mink - Tracks in soft mud, where the animal has been following a stream upalong the valley, to reach easier pickings

In total six predators, all in one valley, all open access. That's winters project sorted.

Squeaking a stoat