"I sit quietly with my back to a tree, my binoculars are on my lap and the breeze gently caresses my face". Margaret Grimwade reports on a visit to the Trust's badger hide, ten minutes from Ipswich.

Over on the far bank of the little pit there are large holes with vast sandy spoil piles, all worn and padded down by many animal feet. Just as the light is going, a black and white face appears at the lowest hole, sniffing the air, and a moment later the badger emerges. To her delight it is followed by two little cubs. This is her first cub sighting of the year!

Most cubs are born in early February although mating can take place in nearly any month. Delayed implantation ensures that the young are ready at about 10-11 weeks, to come above ground, learn and grow during the warmer months of summer. Like children, they learn by play from an early age and, as they grow, will follow their mother on her nightly activities and discover the territory which their family, or clan, uses and defends.

Apart from deer, badgers are Britain's largest land-based mammals weighing around 10 - 12 kgs and measuring about 90cms from nose to tail. Despite this, their prey items are very small and earthworms are their favourite food. They are true omnivores and during the course of the year will also eat grubs, insects, carrion, bulbs, fruit and nuts - their teeth being specially adapted to cope with this variety. Their excellent sense of smell is used to find food and to sense danger; their hearing is also good, although a badger's eyesight is poor.

The day is spent underground in a sett which can vary greatly in size, but in the larger ones holes lead down to a maze of tunnels and sleeping chambers which the badgers keep fresh by frequent cleaning. They use the very long powerful claws on their front feet to dig out soil and collect bedding.

In the UK badgers have no natural predators, but sadly despite the fact that both the animals and their setts are fully protected by the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, digging and baiting does still take place.

In some parts of the country, but not here in the east, badgers are also involved in the controversy linking them with the spread of TB in cattle. There is no easy answer to this complex matter and we are fortunate enough not to have that problem in Suffolk.

Suffolk's badgers are not spread evenly throughout the county and despite little local densities we do not have a vast population. Over the last 10 years they have bred quite well but, with many killed on our roads, numbers are unlikely to increase much.

Badgers are true Ancient Britons, their fossil remains being found from the period when cave bears roamed the countryside. They are now part of the diverse wildlife scene that Suffolk Wildlife Trust seeks to protect.