Dormice

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 …

We were incredibly sad to hear from Sue Portsmouth that one of our long-term dormouse monitors, Karen Bigmore, passed away at her home in April. Karen has been a dedicated monitor and a well-known part of the dormouse community for years. She started monitoring dormice at Hadleigh Great Wood in Essex in 2006, training Sue …

The Blackmoor Copse Dormouse Monitoring Team made some surprising discoveries regarding the nesting material hazel dormice were using in their woodland during the hot summer of 2022. Blackmoor Copse, a 90-acre oak-over-hazel-coppice wood, is owned by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and lies deep in south-east Wiltshire. The dormouse nest boxes – which have numbered between 90 …

We’re partnering with Wildlife Drawing to bring you an evening of art and conservation, centred around the beloved dormouse. We’ll hear from Ian White, our Dormouse Officer, who will talk about our dormouse conservation efforts, including our dormouse reintroduction programme. We’ll then get some drawing tips from artist and wildlife enthusiast Laura Cuppage. This art …

Gaining key insights into how to manage hedgerows for dormice Recently launched, the National Dormouse Footprint Tunnel Survey will use footprint tunnels to detect the presence or absence of the charismatic but rare hazel dormouse in hedgerows. The need for surveying hazel dormice is clear: it is thought that their population has halved in the …

Bountiful supplies of berries and slightly cooler days herald the start of autumn. It’s a busy time of year for dormice, hunting for ripe hazelnuts, blackberries, or the odd sloe kernel, in preparation for hibernation from October onwards. The earlier evenings mean we could be more likely to catch a glimpse of this elusive and …