Islander, Robbie Phillips, has spent this year carrying out an undergraduate research project on how the Hazel Dormouse competes and interacts with nesting birds that make use of their boxes.
He’s carrying out the research for the Dormouse Monitoring Programme run by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species.
Robbie says,
“These boxes are designed for dormice to use during the summer for breeding. However, unexpectedly my research is indicating that birds using the boxes for nesting in the Spring may actually benefit dormice later in the year by providing them with additional insulation for their nests, rather than out competing them as originally believed.”
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Decline of the Dormouse: At risk of extinction
He went on to say,
“Dormouse are currently declining in both range and numbers mainly due to inappropriate management of hedgerows and woodlands and are now classified as at risk of extinction within the United Kingdom.
“They are mainly nocturnal animals and spend the majority of their time in the trees with their diet varying through the year from tree flowers in Spring, to caterpillars and wasp galls in Summer and finally fattening up with blackberries and hazel nuts in Autumn.
“The habitats that they are most commonly found in is successional woodland, often after it has been coppiced but they can also be found in more mature woodlands or even scrub and hedgerows.”
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Get involved
Robbie suggest that if you’ve ever been lucky enough to see a dormouse or even found one dead, come across a dormouse nest or perhaps picked up a hazelnut that you think has been chewed by a dormouse you can submit a one off record to this to the National Dormouse Database to help improve their understanding of their distribution and abundance.
To stay updated with updated on the Dormouse Survey, Like Robbie’s Facebook Page (which has some wonderful photography on it).
If you’re not on Facebook, you can also keep up to date by following Robbie’s Blog.
Images: © Robbie Phillips
