Out with my friend, Nick Young, this morning checking dormouse boxes in one of his Forestry Commission sites. Nick is a licensed dormouse handler and is kindly helping me work towards my licence.
The Hazel Dormouse is a protected species meaning it is an offence not only to harm them, but also cause them disturbance. In order to check nest boxes on sites where dormice are known, you must have the relevant licence to prove that you know how to minimize disturbance whilst carrying out this vital surveying activity.
It was an enjoyable morning, despite the showers and spopping wet ground and we found 13 nests in the nest boxes (of which there are 50). Slightly disappointed not to see a dormouse, but hardly surprising at this time of year, when they are likely to be safely tucked away at ground level, hibernating.
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