Wednesday 25 May 2011

Hunthouse dormice

We've found a dormouse in one of the tubes we put up at Hunthouse in an old coppiced area of woodland. It was a very sleepy yet healthy looking adult male of 19g weight. Nick Benbow (the reserve manager) was glad to have it confirmed that dormice are still present at Hunthouse.

We now will be monitoring the population pre- and post-breeding to get an idea of the number offspring produced - this can be compared with other sites or over the years at this site.  With a tube survey it is only possible to get an index of population abundance in the area relative to other National Dormouse Monitoring Programme sites. It is most likely that many dormice are making use of the numerous crevices and holes in the trees for nesting - hence the number we find in the tubes represents a minimum estimate of dormice in the woodland.

Elizabeth, Dormouse Volunteer

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