Mammaly summer's day!

It all started with a dead Mole this morning; poor thing had been caught by a cat, I suspect. Then I found a young House Mouse in the (live) trap in the shed. The trap was on top of the boiler, to avoid catching a rather 'trap happy' Bank Vole, so I was surprised to catch something so quickly.

Off to Coed Pendugwm to check the nest boxes. As well as the gorgeous female dormouse below, I found two Wood Mice and two Yellow-necked Mice (the latter, a male and female in the same box) and spotted a Rabbit warren and Fox scat. Sadly, still no footage of Otter on the trail camera.

My return to the village was heralded by a Grey Squirrel chastising me for frightening him off the road! On the way to Welshpool, sadly I saw a young a Badger flattened into the Tarmac.

Half way through my dinner, the door bell rang. It was a couple of kids from next door who had found a rather sick looking Hedgehog. I was happy to take him in, but sadly, I don't think he will make it through in the night.

A bat group meeting took me out to Montgomery. I'd taken a bat detector just in case and decided to stop in Berriew on the way back to see what activity there was around the canal. I'd barely been out one minute, when I heard the first, of what turned out to be many Soprano Pipistrelles foraging over the water in typical fashion. I also very briefly heard a big bat at 16kHz. It was probably a Noctule, but the frequency is a little low and the pass brief, so I couldn't be sure. Pulled in again just outside Castle Caereinion and here I heard a Common Pipistrelle.

The really spectacular bat sighting was over the main road (A458); as I joined the back of a queue behind a tractor, I noticed a big bat flying low over the car, keeping pace with us, at the approx 30mph we were doing! It wasn't alone; at least two, but more, I think, were either playing chicken or following a source of food.

Shortly after arriving home, I filled the Hedgehog feeder and topped up the saucer of water and had no sooner checked on the patient, then I was able to watch one enjoying the food!

A remarkable day of mammals, recording 13 different species in one day! Get spotting and see if you can beat me!