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Planning with Dormice in Mind Taking a Closer Look at What Happens When Developers Build on Or Near to Dormouse Sites

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people’s trust for endangered The Dormouse species Monitor WINTER 2014 Planning with dormice in mind Taking a closer look at what happens when developers build on or near to dormouse sites Dormice in tree crevices Dormice in literature Taking at look at genes Henry Andrews shares his Detlev Seibert began A few years ago a hazel photos and experiences of collecting books about dormouse turned up in finding dormice nesting in dormice before the internet Ireland. Where was it from? tree crevices during his bat made searching easier - now Debbie Glass investigates surveys in Somerset. he has a vast collection. and reports. 03 Ian White reports on the 2014 dormouse release James Chubb hosted a woodland 04 management training day at The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon Detlev Seibert, from Germany, has 05 spent years collecting books that feature tales of hazel dormice 07 19 06 Henry Andrews shares his experiences of finding dormice in tree crevices Feeding dormice in her garden is a 06 nightly occurance for Caroline Dilke Rachel Bates lends a hand, training In this issue 07 up new monitors on the PTES nature reserve 12 08 A review of the Danish dormouse 06 conference Debbie Glass takes a closer look at 10 the genetics of our hazel dormice Rimvydas Juškaitis and Laima 12 Baltrūnaitė look at what dormice in Lithuania eat Alice Mouton asks how many 14 species of hazel dormice there are? Li Li Williams explains how dormice 16 are taken into account during building developments in Devon Stephen Carroll looks at how 18 planning impacts on our dormice Spiders have been hitching a ride 20 with Alison Looser Where do dormice hibernate, asks 20 John Prince? Welcome This year has been an exciting one at PTES. We’ve moved offices, have a new look and a Editorial team: Nida Al-Fulaij, Susan Sharafi, Zoe Roden new website. I really hope you like the new Illustrations: Hayley Cove style of The Dormouse Monitor. Thank you to Print: 4-Print everyone who’s kindly contributed to this Cover image: Ruud Foppen edition - we have lots of fascinating articles to The opinions expressed in this keep you entertained over the winter months. magazine are not necessarily those of People’s Trust for Endangered Species. Alice Mouton and Debbie Glass have both Contact us been studying the genetics of hazel dormice and asking how you define a species. There’s a The Dormouse Monitor review of this year’s dormouse release in Nottinghamshire. And we have a report of the 3 Cloisters House Danish dormouse conference. Thank you also to those of you who’ve been busy entering 8 Battersea Park Road London SW8 4BG your data online. We’re sorry the site was down for some time - but are pleased that it’s working smoothly again now. Please get in touch if you have an article that you’d like www.ptes.org [email protected] people’s printed in a future edition. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 020 7498 4533 trust for facebook.com/ptes.org endangered Nida Al-Fulaij & Susan Sharafi twitter.com/PTES species 2 The Dormouse Monitor Wildlife World 2 MAULDEN WOOD, BEDFORDSHIRE Images kindly provided by Nick Upton by provided kindly Images PTES Maulden Woods, in Bedfordshire, was the 2001 release site. We have had exciting news from Sue Raven who co-ordinates the monitoring at the site - there is evidence that the dormouse population has spread to an adjacent woodland. 30 animals were released into this mixed Dormouse woodland site well over a decade ago. Sue will give a more detailed update in the next issue. release 2014 WINDMILL NAPS WOOD, WARWICKSHIRE This summer Ian White and Nida Al-Fulaij escorted 44 Manchester Paul dormice to Nottinghamshire to be released into a woodland just a stone’s throw from the 2013 site, Treswell Wood. It has been known for the past 30 years that from just trying to put a single population hazel dormice became extinct from at least back into an area, to putting at least two seven counties in England. For the past 20 populations back in close proximity. years PTES have been trying to put them Improvements in the local habitat linkage back. between the two sites are then encouraged Windmill Naps was the site chosen for a There have been a total of 19 dormouse and supported and it is hoped that this will double release carried out over two reintroductions to 12 counties in England. facilitate the two populations meeting at consecutive years in 2009 and 2010. A The first of these some point in the total of 46 animals were put into the took place in a 132 There have been a total future to create a wood. The box checks carried out in the hectare wood in more robust subsequent years revealed only a Cambridgeshire in of 19 reintroduction metapopulation. handful of animals - mostly male. But 1993. The dormice across 12 counties The 2015 then in autumn 2013 the team were are still there and dormouse delighted to find over 20 animals, appear to be doing well but there is no reintroduction is planned to take place in a including three litters. Great news. evidence yet that they have started to wood in Rutland in June. disperse from the woodland. BRADFIELD WOOD, The 2013 and 2014 reintroductions both SUFFOLK took place in well-managed woods in However the prize - if there’s a prize for Nottinghamshire that are owned by the the number of dormice at any release site local Wildlife Trust. The aim is to allow the - goes to Bradfield Wood in Suffolk. In dormouse populations to establish in the 2006 we released 38 animals into the woods and then a further joint project wood. In the first autumn exactly 38 between PTES and the Wildlife Trust will animals were found in the box check. The engage with the local landowners to numbers dropped a little over the course improve hedgerow linkage between the of two years and then in 2010 64 animals. woodlands. At the 2014 site, dormice have were found However they trumped their already bred and dispersed across it to areas own record and in 2011 the team must of suitable habitat. have taken hours to sex and weigh the As a result of a Natural England report in 164 dormice that they found. What 2013, the aim of the dormouse wonderful results! reintroduction programme has shifted away The Dormouse Monitor 3 Dormice and donkeys James Chubb hosted a woodland management training day on behalf of PTES. In October, here at The Donkey Sanctuary in months in which the scheme has been south Devon, the charity hosted a workshop running, this is still only the fifth run by PTES to help woodland owners and dormouse we have discovered in one of managers to look after woodlands for our boxes, and only the second this year. dormice; and they used our dormouse It was found in box 49 of 50 on the woodland here at the sanctuary as the morning of the workshop by Adrian afternoon field visit! Bayley and I. This massive stroke of luck James Chubb shows off The Donkey It was a thrilling day for me. The possibly explains my sleeplessness the & Nida Al-Fulaij Cretney Suzi Images workshop was led by national dormouse night before! The dormouse was a Sanctuary woodland expert, Dr Pat Morris, who happened to youngster from this year, male and be my tutor at Royal Holloway and whom weighing-in at a mere 8g. The 10 days of I had not seen in almost 15 years! very warm weather after finding him As ever, with people who have yet to be selectively thinning trees visit our fabulous farms here around In the 20 months the to allow more light through to the Sidmouth, there were quizzical eyebrows woodland floor. If you would be raised from some of the participants. scheme has been interested in helping with this practical However, after a brilliant lecture and running this is only the conservation initiative, or any of our thoroughly enjoyable site visit in which other wildlife projects being we met one of the sanctuary’s dormice in fifth dormouse we’ve undertaken on the Sanctuary, the flesh – everybody left very happy please get in touch. and with a new-found appreciation for found the fabulous environment in which we farm. I learnt an awful lot as well. The star of the show, aside from Dr would have helped him reach the Morris, was undoubtedly the minimum bodyweight for successful dormouse we found. In hibernation. If it had been a normal the 20 autumn he might not have been so lucky. Looking at our dormouse woodland with fresh eyes after the workshop, I noticed that there is very little understory and the majority of the trees are of a similar age – about 10-20 years old. My next task is to write a simple 10-year management plan for this area, with further input from PTES, specifically to improve certain aspects of the woodland for dormice. After all, “what is good for dormice is good for many other plants and animals.” This Adrian Bayley shows the group how to was something of a accurately sex a dormouse mantra for the day. So this winter has instantly been filled with many hours of practical woodland work for me and a team of volunteers. We will 4 The Dormouse Monitor The dormouser in winter Detlev Seibert, from Germany, tells us the story of his search for books and tales about the hazel dormouse.
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