Dormice

This June, we successfully released 38 healthy captive-bred hazel dormouse into a woodland on the Calke Abbey estate in Derbyshire. We reintroduced this new population of dormice in collaboration with Wildwood Trust, London Zoo ZSL and Paignton Zoo. Checking nest boxes for dormice As part of our dormouse reintroductions each year, we work with trained …

A landmark report published today [10th November 2023] by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) reveals that Britain’s native hazel dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) population has declined by a staggering 70% since 2000 and have been lost from 20 English counties since the Victorian times. Hazel dormice are charismatic, small, native rodents with soft …

Bushfire at Roach’s mouse-tailed dormouse study site During the early autumn, we contacted our conservation leader, Nedko Nedyalkov who’s based in Bulgaria, to find out how his research on the Roach’s mouse-tailed dormouse has been progressing. Mouse-tailed dormice – or Myomimus (pronounced me-oh-me-mus) – are one of our most endangered dormouse species. Previously found in …

Benfield Wildlife and Conservation Group (BWCG) I was delighted when Yvette Austin, the environment correspondent for BBC Southeast, asked me if she could film the monthly Benfield Wildlife and Conservation Group dormouse box check. So how did this come about? I’m the chair of Benfield Wildlife and Conservation Group (BWCG) and my passion is sharing …

Butterflies and moths Jim Baldwin, our wonderful volunteer surveyor, has continued his 16-week long UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme survey in Briddlesford. He surveyed, for a couple of hours at a time, on two consecutive weeks in July. In the first week he recorded an amazing 699 butterflies of 17 species and then 590 butterflies of …

New research has confirmed that increased precipitation and fluctuating winter temperatures, as well as density dependence all negatively affects hazel dormouse populations. Worryingly, changing weather patterns – which are increasing – appear to exacerbate populations that are already struggling. The study warns that without mitigating these factors, dormice could disappear from our woodlands altogether. The …

Bid to boost declining dormouse population at National Trust Calke Abbey This week, 38 rare hazel dormice are being reintroduced into a woodland at the National Trust Calke Abbey estate in Derbyshire, in the heart of the National Forest, in an attempt to save this endangered species from further extinction in the UK. The golden-coated, …

38 dormice are released into a woodland at NT Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, in a bid to boost the population of this native species that has experienced a 51% decline since 2000 This week, 38 rare hazel dormice are being reintroduced into the heart of the National Forest by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species …

Mid-Cornwall Moors span some 1650 hectares of wet and dry heaths, mires and broad-leaved woodland, between Bodmin and Indian Queens. Although the area’s on the western edge of the dormouse range in England, it’s home to several National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP) sites and several incidental records have also been reported from the area. Monitoring …

Celia Carter has been monitoring dormice in Marden Park, a large area of Woodland Trust land, on North Downs in Woldingham, Surrey since 2005. She tells us how What3Words (W3W) has made searching for dormouse boxes, and hopefully dormice, easier. Searching for dormouse nest boxes The woodland here is dense and in summer there’s quite …

Restoring Broadwater Warren Broadwater Warren – a 180ha nature reserve – was acquired by the RSPB in 2007. It’s a remnant of Waterdown Forest, a medieval hunting forest in the High Weald where, historically, the landscape would have been open heath with pockets of woodland. RSPB’s aim was to restore rare lowland heath and woodland …

Earlier this month, with the dormouse monitoring season almost over, I excitedly packed my wet weather gear and travelled to northern Germany. I was joining Björn Schulz, Sven Büchner and their families and friends to look for evidence of hazel dormice on the German/Danish border. Finding evidence of dormouse in Germany Germany, like all EU …