Dormice; rare, or just elusive?

I have been reading a very interesting and thought-provoking book! 'Living with Dormice' by Sue Eden challenges the accepted wisdom that the Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is a rare woodland denizen, rather that they are a common, if elusive, rodent. Whilst her work is based very much in Dorset, it rings true with my growing experience of this gorgeous creature here in mid-Wales.

One area which seems to have been generally overlooked is the relationship which the dormouse has with other rodent species, particularly the Wood Mouse and Yellow-necked Mouse. Sue tells us that, in her studies, she has found very few dormice in her boxes in years when these other mouse species are abundant and vice versa.

This morning, I have been out once again with Nick Young from Natural Resources Wales, helping him check 50 boxes in a woodland near Forge. Last time I was there I marveled at the number of boxes occupied by dormice, but this time was even better! I will never forget seeing a bag of five very active dormice in constant motion! Nor will I forget my first dormouse bite from one angry mother, which, whilst a shock, was nowhere near as painful as that delivered by a Wood Mouse! In all, we had ten healthy dormice in the 50 boxes and a good proportion of the rest contained empty nests. Compared to my monitoring at Coed Pendugwm Nature Reserve, where all year only one box has been occupied (out of 100!), this is astounding and got me thinking.

I asked Nick whether he had ever had other mouse species in his boxes and following a check through his notebook, he confirmed that he hadn't. At Coed Pendugwm, I get at least one Wood Mouse during every visit and once I have had a Yellow-necked Mouse too. The latter species has never been recorded further West than Coed Pendugwm (in Montgomeryshire), so its absence and the low numbers of Wood Mice in the Forge wood could go some way to explain the good numbers of dormice in boxes there.

Thanks very much to Sue Eden for further opening my eyes to the fascinating world of the Common Dormouse. I would recommend that anyone with an interest in this species read Sue's book.

Healthy Pendugwm dormice

Another dormouse best box check at Coed Pendugwm; always a pleasure! The favoured box once again was home to a little family of dormice. This box appears to be favoured this year, containing this elusive creature during every check, four months in a row!

Last month, a mother with three closed-eyed youngsters, were a very pleasant surprise. I'm happy to say that this month the family are still doing well. Now juveniles of approximately 6 weeks old, two males and one female, they are nearly as big as mum (10.5g to her 16.5g).

Once the weighing and sexing was complete, the family were 'posted' back in to their box. By the time it was Mum's turn, she'd got quite sleepy and was certainly in no hurry to check on her family!

D Day

No, not the military landings, but a 'landing' for me... today I handled my first ever dormouse! In fact, by the end of the morning, I'd had the pleasure of six of these cutest of all mammals in my hand! If you think they look cute in photos...

...you should see them in the flesh! And their fur feels soooo soft.

Five of the six were, like the one above, very sleepy and endearingly snuggled into my hand, whilst the sixth nearly escaped, she was so active!

Out of 50 boxes, 6 dormice is a good number to find. This delightful patch of woodland, near Machynlleth, obviously provides all they need.

Many people will be aware that the Hazel Dormouse receives the highest level of legal protection in the UK, meaning you need a licence to even look in the nest boxes, let alone handle them. As I am currently working towards my licence, I am very grateful to Nick Young for sharing this experience with me today.

Dormousing

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.

Dormice at Dolforwyn

A day of checking dormouse nest boxes today, with licensed handler, Nick Young. First we checked the one hundred boxes which were erected at Dolforwyn Woods in July. This is the first time these boxes have been checked and so we were delighted to find that two boxes contained unoccupied dormouse nests. This is a new record for the site; great news!

Nick and I then moved on to Coed Pendugwm where dormice were re-discovered last month after an absence of nine years! Two unoccupied nests were also found here.

It was a shame that we didn't get to see any actual dormice, but it is getting a little late in the year now, as they will be thinking about going in to hibernation. Checking the dormouse boxes will recommence in April (licence permitting) and I'm hopeful we may have even more success next year.

100 new homes

An enjoyable day with seven super people and lovely weather! Today we erected 100 new dormouse nest boxes at Coed Pendugwm Nature Reserve. Fingers crossed that these fabulous Montgomeryshire residents appreciate their new homes when they awake from hibernation in April/May. Watch this space!...

Best mammaling day ever!

Ran a woodland mammal workshop today for Dyfi Woodlands, near Machynlleth. I set six longworth small mammal traps last night and was delighted to catch four Wood Mice; two male, two female. One of the participants then set one trap and barely two hours later, a male Bank Vole was captured!

We then looked for nibbled nuts and several people discovered a remarkable number which had been nibbled by dormice!!

But the real icing on the cake was saved 'til last! A search along the stream revealed two otter spraints and whilst we were admiring one, we spotted an otter making his way towards us!!! Despite being upwind and talking loudly, he didn't notice us until the last minute, probably because the noise of the stream here was considerable. A really special moment which none of us will ever forget!

On arriving home, I persuaded the other half to go for a walk and on the way back I spotted a Stoat!

What a lucky day!