100 The Wildlife Trust 100 95 For Birmingham and the Black Country 95 75 75 25 25 5 5 0 0 A Provisional Atlas of The Mammals of Birmingham and 100 The Black Country 100 95 95 75 75 25 25 5 5 0 0 Protecting Wildlife for the future 100 100 95 Credits 95 75 75 A provisional Atlas of Mammals in 25 25 Birmingham and the Black Country 5 5 0 0 Edited by Neil M. Wyatt. Published byThe Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country. ISBN: 0902 484 94 For further copies please contact: The Wildlife Trust 28 Harborne Road Edgbaston Birmingham B15 3AA Tel 0121 454 1199 Fax 0121 454 6556 Email [email protected] An electronic version of this publication is available in pdf format from our website at: www.bbcwildlife.org.uk The Atlas is based on records held by EcoRecord, the ecological database for the Black Country and Birmingham. Production of this Atlas has been supported by a grant from English Nature and donations from private individuals. © 2003 The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country The West Midlands Urban WildlifeT rust Ltd. Charity Number 513 615 100 100 95 Maps reproduced from the Ordnance Survey mapping with 95 permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery 75 Office. 75 © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes 25 Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil 25 proceedings. 5 5 0 jdt West Midlands. Licence number LA 08946L. © 2003 0 100 100 95 Contents 95 75 75 25 25 Credits Inside Front Cover 5 5 Acknowledgements 1 0 0 Preface 2 Introduction 3 Birmingham and the Black Country 4 Species Accounts 5 EcoRecord 37 Birmingham and Black Country Mammal Group 37 References 38 Appendix 1 - Legal Status of Species 40 Appendix 2 - EcoRecord Recording Card Inside Back Cover Acknowledgements This work would have been impossible without the many individuals who have submitted records. Sadly, we cannot acknowledge them all, and to identify a few would be unfair on many others. They range from full-time conservationists to enthusiastic householders. Our grateful thanks to them all. The production of the species accounts has truly been a team effort; Paul Curry, originally for a report on Black Country Mammals, carried out a broad literature review and compilation of information that was an invaluable starting point for the project. A few late addition species were researched by the editor, and Simon Phipps compiled most of the information on bats. Further comment and advice was received from Andrew Crawford, Chris Parry, Dave Haslam, Tim Moughtin, Helen Griffiths, Nick Grayson, John Needle, Paul Stephenson, Sara Carvalho, John Gerrard, Stefan Bodnar, Phil Burkinshaw among others, including members of the Birmingham and Black Country Mammal Group. Ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the text remains, alas, with the editor. Printing of the Atlas was supported by a grant from English Nature and donations from individuals. These 100 are gratefully acknowledged. 100 95 Original illustrations were produced by Jeremy Wyatt, with additional drawings provided by English 95 Nature, the Wildlife Trusts and the Bat Conservation Trust. Photography was by Mike Hamett, Hugh Clark 75 and Paul Glendell, all courtesy of English Nature. Again, our thanks to them all. 75 Finally, thank you to Derek Yalden for his preface. 25 25 5 5 0 0 100 100 95 Preface 95 75 75 25 25 I am very pleased to be able to write a preface to this Atlas, 5 particularly in view of its appreciation of Bunny Teagle=s 5 Endless Village. He was the Mammal Recorder for the 0 0 London Natural History Society when I was an undergraduate over 40 years ago. His lecture to the nascent University of London Natural History Society initiated me into recording mammals (as well as reptiles and amphibians) on a one-kilometre square basis, and started me on the distribution surveys that have kept me enjoying weekend natural history ever since. As a very early, if not quite founder, member of The Mammal Society, he also introduced me to that Society, and encouraged my early participation in national atlases. From an early start, a provisional national atlas that was published in 1971, national mammal recording has been celebrated in national atlases in 1978 and 1993, but has been sadly neglected since, despite some excellent dedicated national surveys (of otters and water voles, for example). However, such national surveys have stimulated much local activity, and it is rewarding to see local atlases, such as this, appearing. It is clear that much progress has been made - the examples of the fox, grey squirrel and pipistrelle here show well what can be achieved. On the other hand, I would be surprised if moles and rabbits were not rather more widespread than the maps presently show. It would be valuable to be able to show the extent to which these two have been pushed out by spreading urbanisation; both are readily recordable, familiar mammals, so here is an immediate challenge to which all mammal recorders can respond! Recording small mammals and rarer bats is always hard, and it is unlikely that their true distribution can be readily revealed, but even their relative abundances and habitat preferences can be indicated by enough local records. This is an excellent start - carry on the good work! D.W. Yalden President, The Mammal Society 2 September 2003 100 100 95 95 75 75 t t a y W 25 y 25 m e 5 r 5 e J 0 2 0 100 100 95 Introduction 95 75 75 25 25 It is ironic that the fox, symbol of the rural/urban divide, is 5 now more abundant in cities than the countryside. Yet, as this 5 Atlas demonstrates, a remarkable proportion of the UK’s 0 0 wild mammals are to be found within Birmingham and the Black Country. From the red deer to the tiny harvest mouse and pygmy shrew there is remarkable diversity, and the situation is changing all the time. In the past fifty years the grey squirrel has replaced the red squirrel in our parks, yet in e the last ten or fifteen years polecats and otters have returned r u t to the area. The familiar pipistrelle bat has been ‘split’ into a N two species, both found here. Intensive survey work has h s demonstrated that the conurbation’s many waterways i l g support a nationally significant population of water voles, n E / and their future fortunes may be closely tied up with those of l l e both mink and otters reported at the edges of the area. d n e For those involved with urban nature conservation it seems l G Fox l remarkable that, aside from Richard Fitter’s remarkable u a Natural History of London, cities and towns were effectively P written off in wildlife terms for most of the twentieth century. places, it is supported by a partnership of over 50 Then in the late 1970’s, W. ‘Bunny’ Teagle reported on the organisations. Two recurring themes in the plan wildlife of Birmingham and the Black Country on behalf of are improving our knowledge of wildlife; and the Nature Conservancy Council. The result was The disseminating that knowledge to others. Endless Village, a groundbreaking publication which This Provision Atlas of Mammals in demonstrated that the wildlife and habitats of urban areas are Birmingham and the Black Country is helping as diverse and exciting as those in the countryside. In 1980 a put the Biodiversity Action Plan into action. Of combination of academic interest and the campaigning of necessity the information on many of the species city-dwellers top protect their local wildlife sites culminated covered is incomplete, but we hope that the in a conference on urban wildlife and the founding of the information contained here will inform and Urban Wildlife Group (later to became the Wildlife Trust). improve the work done to conserve our wild The UK now has an established urban wildlife movement, mammals. Equally, the gaps in our knowledge and the biodiversity of towns and cities is now celebrated as present a challenge to natural historians across the main meeting place for people and wildlife. the area, and we hope this publication will be a In 1990 EcoRecord, the ecological database for the Black spur to encourage and focus future recording Country and Birmingham, was set up by a partnership of effort. Nature Conservancy Council (now English Nature), the five Finally, the role the general public can play in local authorities, the Joint Data Team (jdt-Mott MacDonald) mammal recording must not be underestimated. and the Wildlife Trust. Since then EcoRecord has Many mammals are easily and reliably accumulated over 400,000 wildlife records and information identifiable - our remarkably detailed picture of on hundreds of wildlife sites. By using the latest in 100 the fox population is almost wholly derived 100 geographical information systems (GIS) EcoRecord is able from reports from the public. Wild animals 95 95 to inform and support biodiversity conservation and inspire and enthuse people young and old, and research; inform land managers and planners; and provide 75 from every background, by involving them in 75 information to educational establishments and the general discovering more about our mammals and public. filling the gaps in our knowledge we will be 25 More recently the Biodiversity Action Plan for Birmingham laying the foundations of a better future for all of 25 and the Black Country has come to the fore. A blueprint for Birmingham and the Black Country’s wildlife. 5 5 0 3 0 100 100 95 Birmingham and the 95 75 Black Country 75 25 25 Birmingham and the Black Country (Dudley, Sandwell, 5 Walsall and Wolverhampton) are the heart of the English 5 Midlands.