Badgers are nocturnal and rarely seen during the day. They excavate burrows (setts) with their powerful feet. Active setts have freshy excavated earth mounds nearby. Badger dung pits can be found near sett entrances.
Badger hairs can often be found caught on the bottom of wire fences and mixed in with freshly excavated earth at sett entrances. Badger hairs are black and white in colour and are coarse so that they appear angular when rolled between fingers.
Badger footprints have 5 toes in front of a broad kidney-shaped palm pad. The toes almost appear to be in a line and the forefoot ones have long claws.
The colour and content of badger droppings vary according to what they have
been eating. In the autumn when blackberries are abundant droppings may appear
purple. At other times they can be black. They can be found in badger latrines (shallow
depressions) near sett entrances which are covered.
Badger setts, especialy main and annex setts have more than one entrance. The
holes are 25-30cm in diameter and dome shaped. Active setts have fresh earth
excavated near them. Piles of vegetation used from bedding may also be found
nearby when it has been replaced by fresh vegetation.