Dormice - Where Are They Now?

In search of Fingle’s dormice, the footprint tracking study in Hall’s Cleave has continued through June and into July. We’ve had some good results so far this spring, demonstrating how these mini acrobats move around to find food through the season, and as their diet varies depending on what is available. It’s quite normal in a monitoring season to lose contact with these furry friends during the summer as they tend to head for the canopy to find aphids and other invertebrates. These footprint tunnels have confirmed the predicted fall in activity down at our level as, sure enough, there haven’t been so many prints to find at the end of June and into July.

Is this hotspot of summer activity a result of the new and vigorous tree growth? It certainly looks like it from our initial results and, in time, we will be able to see if this becomes a regular pattern of behaviour. Species monitoring volunteers are gradually returning to the woods and were happy to help with the final check of the summer which also showed the same pattern of behaviour. We have a lot to learn from close observation of wildlife and this could be another useful finding to help us to understand and improve the woodland habitat. The survey will start again with a few more volunteers in blackberry season, to collect the results as autumn approaches and before the dormice go back into hibernation. Perhaps more of us will be back in the woods by then to share the crop of juicy berries with the wonderful wildlife of Fingle that we are all keen to protect.by Matt Parkins