'Jack' in a box!

Another month, another dormouse box check at Coed Pendugwm Nature Reserve. This time no live mice of any kind, although there were plenty of their signs (nests and caches). However, three mammal species were seen; two Rabbits were seen on arrival and I startled a Fox not far from the car park, but the best was definitely saved 'til last!

When I opened the penultimate box, there was a stir of movement. I expected a Wood or Yellow-necked Mouse, but when I opened the box, a Weasel shot out in to the bag!! It was not at all happy, whizzing round and round and making a rather disturbing screech at intervals. Consequently, my attempts to photograph it, were rather fruitless and all I managed was this:

If you want to see what a Weasel actually looks like, head here: http://mammal.org.uk/species-factsheets/Weasel

Moth & bat night, Llyn Coed y Dinas

Last night was Moth & bat night at Llyn Coed y Dinas, a collaborative event run by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust & Montgomeryshire Moth Group. I was there to record and interpret the bats.

Couldn't have asked for better weather; warm enough without a coat even at 1:30am, dry and quite clear, but a slight breeze largely keeping the midges at bay! 20 people turned out to discover the nocturnal creatures on this nature reserve. Despite it being an MWT reserve for over 20 years, moths and bats have not been surveyed before, so every record was likely to be new to the site.

Following introductions to moths by Peter Williams (County Moth Recorder) and bats by myself, we set off to look for some of the latter. As soon as we switched on the detectors, we heard Soprano Pipistrelle and indeed, these were the most numerous species recorded all night. In fact, they were the only bats we heard on the heterodyne detectors; they were EVERYWHERE!

Thankfully, I had also brought along the Trust's Anabat, installing it in a quiet part of the site, well away from the numerous moth traps and beside the lake. This also recorded lots of Sopranos, but there was a brief pass by Common Pipistrelle and several recordings of Daubenton's Bat. This brought the total bats recorded to three, covering all the species I had expected to easily detect on the site.

When I left about quarter to two, the moth-ers had reached a total of 74 species, but they weren't ready to pack up yet! You can find out more about their night on the Montgomeryshire Moth Group blog.

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!

Swarm of pipistrelles!

Lovely evening for a stroll, last night, much as it is tonight. What a fantastic spectacle over the river...



As I leaned over the bridge parapet, my bat detectors burst into frenzied life. Impossible to count, a positive swarm of pipistrelle bats were swooping backwards and forwards, foraging for tiny insects. True to form, the majority of the bats were Soprano Pipistrelles, which usually feed in wetland habitats. I'm sure that if I'd waited a little longer, the pips would have been joined by that real water specialist, the Daubenton's Bat, but I'll leave that to another night.

If you live near a river, canal or large pond, do get out and enjoy the experience of these superb masters of the night air. Don't forget to send me your records!

Make your smartphone work for mammals

Since the launch of the Mammal Society's new Mammal Tracker app, my mammal recording output has drastically increased. I have recorded 62 mammals since May 13th, of 14 different species, as shown on the chart below:


The reason for this increase is the app's ease of use, allowing me to record mammals when I see them, rather than leaving it until later and then forgetting to do it or exactly where the mammal was.

If you have a smartphone or tablet running android or iOS, please do download this free app and get recording. It will not only help improve our local understanding of mammals, but also feed in to the National Mammal Atlas. To find out more, or download the app, please head here. Alternatively head to Google Play or the Apple AppStore and search for 'Mammal Tracker'.

I look forward to seeing your records!

Three dormice recorded at Cors Dyfi this week. More info here :

Cors Dyfi & Observatory

New app for your mammal recording

The Mammal Society have just launched a new smartphone/tablet app for mammal recording. Called Mammal Tracker, it is a free app, available on android or iOS.

It is easy to use and works with iRecord, so as a County Mammal Recorder, I can get access to your records, as well as making an important contribution to the National Mammal Atlas.

So, if you have an android or iOS device, why not give it a go and improve our knowledge of mammals in Montgomeryshire?!

Download from Google Play here or iTunes here.

2014 Living with Mammals survey commences

Today sees the start of the PTES 2014 Living with Mammals survey. I've been taking part in this nationwide survey of mammals in the built environment since it started in 2003. It's an easy one to take part in as you can give as little or as much time as you are able and it is designed to be done in your garden or other 'built' space. It is surveys like this one which tell us important information about how our mammals are doing; for example, this survey, along with Mammals on Roads, has helped highlight the continued decline of our Hedgehogs. Do take part if you can.

I popped out for five minutes tonight on returning from dog training class, to see what was about. I took my new Elekon Batscanner and I hadn't even stepped out the door and I heard a Soprano Pipistrelle. This was shortly followed by a Common Pipistrelle, so in less than a minute I could confidently say that I had at least 2 bats flying round the garden.

Living with Mammals does not require you to identify species of bat, so its great if you just see one or two flying around. However, if you do record any species, I would love to know.

Hedgehogs emerge from hibernation

Well, it has been mild, so it is perhaps not surprising that the Pontrobert Hedgehogs are once again frequenting our feeder. It's great to see them again!

Don't forget to report your Hedgehog sightings to me, dead or alive!

Cardiff Uni plea for volunteers

Cardiff University are hoping to recruit volunteers to help with otter spraint collections - can you help?

Background
During national surveys in the 80s and 90s in Wales, spraint from some catchments (including the Teifi, Tywi, Wye, Cleddau and Severn) was collected. Initial analysis of some of these samples indicates a marked drop in eel remains between the two decades, and a shift to other prey species.

Cardiff Uni would like to repeat spraint collection on all the catchments for which we have historic spraint collections to analyse prey remains and identify both the decrease in reliance on eels (and how this varies between catchments) and what other species are making up the deficit. For example, is this causing increased pressure on other vulnerable species like amphibians, or on resources such as stillwater fisheries?

Practicalities
The hope is to collect spraint this summer; there are details of exactly where spraint was collected in the past, so they want to repeat this as closely as possible.

Funding applications are currently being written to cover costs such as volunteer travel. It will help the funding bid to have a good list of collaborators, so if you think you might like to get involved, please let me know asap. Otherwise, watch this space for more details!

Otters

Probably the same otter family at Cors Dyfi over the last few days as in the image two blogs down. Almost certainly a mother with two kits.

Short video here

National Polecat Survey 2014-2015

Vincent Wildlife Trust are launching a new polecat survey to gather up-to-date information on the current distribution of polecats in Britain and investigate introgression between polecats and ferrets. This survey follows on from 2 previous surveys carried out by VWT in the 1990s and 2004-2006.

They are keen to receive records of polecats, polecat-ferrets and feral ferrets from all over mainland Britain, including Montgomeryshire. The survey will start in January 2014 and run until the end of 2015. For more information, click here.

Otters

Two otters were feeding this morning in a perch stocked pool on the boundary of Cors Dyfi and Morben Isaf caravan park. Here's one of them!

(Image Alan Davies)

Otters at Cors Dyfi

Three otters captured on Stealth Camera on December 11th at Cors Dyfi. An adult and two juveniles.

Great Otter footage

Today I was sent this short, but sweet video of three Otters on the Afon Cain in Llanfechain - many thanks to Jake Stephen (www.jakestephenphotography.co.uk). Two of them spraint at two different locations, under the bridge. Great footage!

Strange sound from Yellow-neck

Whilst checking the dormouse nest boxes at Coed Pendugwm Nature Reserve the other day, I found two Yellow-necked Mice in one box, one male and one female. Once in the bag, the female constantly made a sound which I have never heard any mouse make before.

I'm guessing it was a response to the stress, maybe even a warning to stay away. I would be interested to know whether anyone else has heard something similar.

New bat species recorded in Montgomeryshire

Guest blog, courtesy of Simon Cope, Chair of Montgomeryshire Bat Group...

The Nathusius' Pipistrelle is known to migrate long distances, with populations in Eastern Europe flying south and west for the breeding season. The resident population in the UK is boosted during the summer by these migrants, and they become especially obvious during the Autumn when the males establish 'lekking roosts' from which they spend many nocturnal hours calling to attract females that are flying overhead. Although there have been occasional instances of Nathusius' Pip's in our neighbouring counties, they have never been detected in Montgomeryshire, until now!

During a survey near Newtown in the last week in September, a member of the Montgomeryshire Bat Group recorded a very special series of calls. In addition to the characteristic echolocation calls of Common and Soprano Pipistrelles, the sonogram included some with a peak frequency down at 38kHz. This was later confirmed by a national expert as our first record of a Nathusius' Pipistrelle. As well as its rarity, the lack of previous records is probably also due to the low numbers of people listening, so the challenge now is to gather more records and to find some roosts - a process that is being carried out all over the UK with varying degrees of success. If you would like to get involved, please contact the Montgomeryshire Bat Group.

The sonogram which clinched it!

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!

Weasel

Two cheeky little weasels on Cors Dyfi yesterday afternoon.

The cold March has been devastating on many of our mammals here, thankfully not these two.