Devon dormice turning to birdfeeders for food.
07th November 2008
What was thought to be a one off occurrence, a dormouse feeding at a garden birdfeeder, now seems to be turning into a wildlife phenomenon; one which is causing scientists to re-think their assumptions. Now an Exeter-based student, working with the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre, is asking people in Devon and Cornwall to track this trend by looking out for dormice feeding in their gardens.
Some dormice not yet hibernating
The recent cold snap should have meant that most members of this diminutive mouse family are tucked away for the winter hibernation, however Devon Biodiversity Records Centre has received a number of recent reports of dormice still foraging in Devon gardens, and in particular of them taking advantage of free food from garden bird feeders.
University of Exeter student, Stephen Carroll, has been researching the phenomenon during the past year visiting more than 40 sites in the county. He now wants to know if anyone else is finding these wonderful little creatures active in their gardens. Armed with this information he hopes to be able to understand more about this strange behaviour.
Gardens visits widespread
Stephen said: "Over the last few years we've had to change the way we think about where dormice are and how they behave. This summer I have spent a lot of time surveying sites and this has revealed a lot of new information. It looks like the phenomenon of visiting gardens is quite widespread. We are not sure whether it is the lack of food in the wild, or related to numbers of dormice, meaning that they are spreading into the towns. Longer term climate change could also be altering their behaviour. Or it could be just that nobody has really noticed them before now. My study hopes to answer some of these questions. It would be great to find out if dormice are turning up in more gardens than we currently know of."
Recent sightings
Recent sightings have come in from Newton Abbot, Tiverton and other Devon towns. In one example, Devon Biodiversity Records Centre received clear photos of a dormouse acrobatically hanging from a bird feeder while nibbling away at peanuts.
Stephen added: "The period before hibernation is when dormice will be trying to fatten up as much as they can, so this might be the best chance to see them taking advantage of food in gardens. Dormice nationally are a rare species and usually they would be hidden away on woodland nature reserves in the countryside. At most of these unusual sightings the sites contain a decent hedgerow which must be their route of passage, but in many cases there are no wildlife rich areas nearby."
Dormice are protected by law and Stephen has a special licence to handle them.
To register a sighting, log on to www.devonwildlifetrust.org and click on 'wildlife recording form'. The data will be logged with the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre and the passed onto Stephen to help with the research. The study continues until summer 2009.
Some dormice not yet hibernating
The recent cold snap should have meant that most members of this diminutive mouse family are tucked away for the winter hibernation, however Devon Biodiversity Records Centre has received a number of recent reports of dormice still foraging in Devon gardens, and in particular of them taking advantage of free food from garden bird feeders.
University of Exeter student, Stephen Carroll, has been researching the phenomenon during the past year visiting more than 40 sites in the county. He now wants to know if anyone else is finding these wonderful little creatures active in their gardens. Armed with this information he hopes to be able to understand more about this strange behaviour.
Gardens visits widespread
Stephen said: "Over the last few years we've had to change the way we think about where dormice are and how they behave. This summer I have spent a lot of time surveying sites and this has revealed a lot of new information. It looks like the phenomenon of visiting gardens is quite widespread. We are not sure whether it is the lack of food in the wild, or related to numbers of dormice, meaning that they are spreading into the towns. Longer term climate change could also be altering their behaviour. Or it could be just that nobody has really noticed them before now. My study hopes to answer some of these questions. It would be great to find out if dormice are turning up in more gardens than we currently know of."
Recent sightings
Recent sightings have come in from Newton Abbot, Tiverton and other Devon towns. In one example, Devon Biodiversity Records Centre received clear photos of a dormouse acrobatically hanging from a bird feeder while nibbling away at peanuts.
Stephen added: "The period before hibernation is when dormice will be trying to fatten up as much as they can, so this might be the best chance to see them taking advantage of food in gardens. Dormice nationally are a rare species and usually they would be hidden away on woodland nature reserves in the countryside. At most of these unusual sightings the sites contain a decent hedgerow which must be their route of passage, but in many cases there are no wildlife rich areas nearby."
Dormice are protected by law and Stephen has a special licence to handle them.
To register a sighting, log on to www.devonwildlifetrust.org and click on 'wildlife recording form'. The data will be logged with the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre and the passed onto Stephen to help with the research. The study continues until summer 2009.
