February 2016 Mammal of the Month - The Wood Mouse

Wood Mouse - photo Becky Thomas

Happy February everyone! Time for our next mammal of the month.

February's should be a bit easier to spot than January's otter. This month it's the wood mouse. This is the mouse you're most likely to see in most parts of Berkshire, including urban areas, and by far the most common species that we find in our live trapping surveys.

Our top facts for the wood mouse are:

1. They can be easily distinguished from field and bank voles by the size of their ears - as you can see from the photo they are rather large. Those of voles are hardly visible in comparison. See here for other species that they could be confused with and how to tell them apart.

2. They are prolific breeders! The usual season is March to October but can be all year round if there is enough food. Females are able to get pregnant again very soon after each litter.

3. They store food in caches in underground burrows

4. They nest together in groups over the winter

5. They are an important source of food for many other species - anything from foxes to owls (and of course pet cats!) will eat them.

Please record any sightings via our recording page - we really appreciate all of your records and don't forget, it's not just sightings of the mammal of the month that we're after but any sightings or signs of any wild mammal.

Find out more with the Mammal Society's fact sheet for the species.

January 2016 Mammal of the Month - The Otter

Otter - photo credit: Becky Thomas

Season's greetings everyone and wishing you all the very best for 2016.

Our first Mammal of the Month for the new year is.... the otter.

Our top five facts for this often secretive species are:

* They can live up to 10 years in the wild.

* Young are born in dens called holts and the mother looks after the cubs alone.

* They can have very large territories - up to 20 km of river!

* Their poo is called spraint - it smells sweet and musky and is often the only way you know that an otter is in the area.

* After almost disappearing from much of Britain in the last century they are now making an impressive come-back - BMG even has a record from very close to the Oracle Shopping Centre in the centre of Reading.

Find out more about the species on the Mammal Society's fact sheet at:

Otter fact sheet

and please record any sightings (of them or their signs) at:

BMG recording

December 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Harvest Mouse

Photo Credit: Reg Mckenna via Wikicommons

 
We're pleased to announce that our Mammal of the Month for December is the harvest mouse!

Our top five harvest mouse facts are:

  * They have 2-3 litters a year

  * They weigh just 4-6 g on average

  * Spotting a nest is the easiest way to detect their presence. These are built at least 30 cm above ground in  grasses or reeds and can be up to 10 cm in diameter for a breeding nest

  * They have prehensile tails - useful for climbing!

  * They live 18 months on average.

Find out more about the species with the Mammal Society's fact sheet at:

Harvest Mouse Factsheet

and don't forget to record any sightings or signs of these or any other mammals for us at:

Mammal Records

Check out the great photos of the harvest mouse nests found on the recent training day - posted a few weeks ago on the BMG Facebook page.

November 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Fallow Deer

It's November already! Time to say goodbye to the hedgehog and welcome the fallow deer as our November Mammal of the Month.

Our top five facts for this species are:

• They were introduced to the UK by the Normans - they originally come from south-west Asia - and are now the most common deer in the UK.

• They are in between roe deer and red deer in size and have spotty coats and a white bottom edged with black stripes.

• The rutting season is October and November so keep an ear out if you're out and about in the woods this month.

• Females can live up to 16 years in the wild.

• Nearly 2/3 of their diet is grass but they will also browse young trees and eat acorns, beech mast and chestnuts in the autumn.

Please record your sightings at BMG Recording

If you'd like to find out more about this species check out the Mammal Society's fact sheet at: Fallow Deer

October 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Hedgehog

 

Photo credit: Becky Thomas

 

It's getting into hibernation time now so our October Mammal of the Month is our prickly friend, the hedgehog.

Our top 5 facts for the hedgehog are:

1. They live for up to 10 years, though most live only 2-3 years 

 

2. They breed between April and September, with litter sizes of 4-5 

 

3. They travel up to 2 km every night hunting for food and in built-up areas have been shown to use up to 10 gardens each.

4. When hibernating they may awaken several times to build a new nest 

 

5. They are good swimmers (but often get stuck in modern smooth-sided ponds so please consider a ramp using a plank of wood if you have one)

If you see any hedgehogs, or any other mammals this month, please record it for us here. 

Of course we hope that all of your sightings will be of live hedgehogs but sightings of dead ones are useful records too so please enter these as well.

Check out the Mammal Society's fact sheet here to learn more.

September 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Muntjac Deer

Photo Credit: Mel Orros

Our September mammal of the month is the muntjac deer. Here are our top five muntjac facts:


1. They are native to China but were deliberately introduced into the wild in England in 1901 close to Woburn Abbey

2. They breed all year round

3. They don't form herds - if you see a group together it is likely to be a mother and her kid

4. They are only little! In size they are just a little larger than a fox and weigh under 20 kg.

5. Males have long, protruding canines - you should be able to spot these in a photo or if you spot one in the wild, even at a distance.

Check out the Mammal Society’s fact sheet for the species to learn more.

Please record any sightings of muntjac or any other mammals for us here. Every record counts!

August 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Mole

Photo Credit: Mike E Talbot (via Wikicommons)

Time to announce our August Mammal of the Month! This month it's the mole. This species is one of the hardest British mammals to spot but you may well see signs of it. Here are our top five mole facts for you:

1. Moles eat over half their body weight in earthworms every day!
2. Their deeper tunnels may be used by several generations of moles
3. Their tunnel networks can be several hundreds of metres long
4. There are no moles in Ireland
5. Moles sometimes keep their prey alive in underground chambers instead of eating it straight away. 

Find out more details with the Mammal Society's fact sheet

And finally, last but most certainly not least, please don't forget to record your sightings of moles or any signs of them (mole hills count!) at our recording page.

July 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Fox

Photo Credit: Becky Thomas

This month’s mammal is the fox! 

Familiar to all of us, this carnivore is widespread in both urban and rural areas. July is an ideal time to spot the species as this year's cubs are now out of their dens. We would love to see any photos you have of them and of course, please don't forget to enter your sightings for our records here.

Our top five foxy facts are:

1. Foxes are found all across Britain except for all of the Scottish Islands other than Skye
   
   
2. Most only live for 1 to 3 years in the wild although some have been known to reach age 9.
   
   
3. They hold family territories that can vary from 0.2 all the way up 40 square kilometres depending upon the type of habitat
   
   
4. Their tails get thicker and bushier in the winter
   
   
5. Adults weigh between 5 and 7 kg.

The national Mammal Society's factsheet has more details here

June 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Grey Squirrel

Photo Credit - Becky Thomas

Somehow we’ve reached June already so it’s time for a new mammal of the month for you all to spot in the long evenings. This month it’s the grey squirrel. Not everyone's favourite squirrel in the UK but in suburban and urban areas probably the wild mammal that you'll most often see.

Our top five grey squirrel facts are:

1. They originally come from the USA and were introduced into the UK over many years from the 1870s through to the late 1920s.
2. Their tails can be as long as the rest of their bodies (tails up to 24 cm, body length 24-28.5 cm)
3. Their nests are called dreys and they often use twigs that they cut straight from the tree with leaves still on (birds use dead twigs).
4. Females can have two litters a year, in spring and again in the summer, with 3 or 4 young in each litter.
5. As they are not a native species and are often considered a pest it is illegal to release one back into the wild in the UK without a special exemption certificate (some wildlife rehabilitation centres have these).

 Find out more with the national Mammal Society’s fact sheet for the species 
.

Photo Credit - Damian Carter

Please record all of your grey squirrel sightings for us at our recording page – we have surprisingly few squirrel records considering how many are around. Don’t forget that we also welcome records of all wild mammals all year round so please don’t restrict yourselves to the Mammal of the Month!

May 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Hazel Dormouse

Hazel Dormouse - Photo credit: Becky Thomas

Happy May Day!

We’re pleased to announce that our Mammal of the Month for May is the hazel dormouse. They are just coming out of hibernation at this time of year so it is the perfect time to welcome the species as our Mammal of the Month.

Our top five dormice facts are:

1. As well as hibernating over the winter, dormice can also go into a state called torpor in poor weather to save energy. Their body temperature becomes lower and they appear to be in a deep sleep
2. Dormice rarely come to the ground, instead using tree and shrub branches to move around
3. Females usually have one litter of about four young and the young stay with their mother for up to 8 weeks.
4. In the UK, dormice are mostly found in southern England with some in Wales. It is rare to find populations north of the Midlands.
5. There are surprisingly few dormouse records for Berkshire but we are hoping that our nest box sites may provide more during this year’s checks.

Find out lots more about dormice via the Mammal Society's webpage for the species where you can also download a species factsheet

Dormouse records are hard to come by but do let us know if you spot any when you're out and about and please record sightings or signs of any mammal here

April 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Badger

Photo credit: Matt Collis

 

Our April mammal of the month is the badger. The species we have in the UK is the European badger (scientific name Meles meles). It will be familiar to many of us from children's stories and lots of other sources but how many of you have seen one live in the wild? If you do spot one, please record it for us here. Any road-kill victims can also be entered as a record although of course we hope not to have many of those. Any other mammal records can be entered via the same page too.

Our top five badger facts are:

• They weigh around 8-9 kg in the spring but go up to about 11 to 12 kg in the autumn
• Social groups usually contain about 6 adults but groups of over 20 have been recorded
• Cubs are born bald and blind within the sett, usually in February, and do not emerge above ground for around 2 months (so look out soon!).
• They mark the edge of their territories with latrines - shallow pits in which they defecate
• The territory around a set is usually around 30 ha but can be up to 150 ha.

For more details, check out the very informative Mammal Society fact sheet on the species, including pictures of their tracks and signs.

If you are lucky enough to take a photo of a badger or have any that you've already taken, we'd love to see them - please share!

March 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Brown Hare

Our mammal of the month for March, is the 'Mad March' hare. Brown hares are present across most of the country in lowland areas and our records for Berkshire are all in the west of the county to date (west of Bradfield) so it would be great to get some from elsewhere - see if you can spot this speedy character when walking on farm or grassland. Please record any sightings for us here.

 

Our top five hare facts are:

 

* They can run fast - up to 45 miles per hour!

 

* They have longer ears than rabbits, with black tips

 

* Unlike rabbits, they don't burrow. Instead they make small depressions called forms.

 

* Young hares are called leverets

 

* Females can have up to four litters every year.

 

The Mammal Society factsheet has more details:

January 2015 Mammal of the Month - The Otter

Photo Credit: Becky Thomas

We're back after the festive break and very pleased to announce our first Mammal of the Month for 2015 - the otter. 

 

 Our top five facts for this often secretive species are:

• They can live up to 10 years in the wild
• Young are born in dens called holts and the mother looks after the cubs alone
• Otters can have large territories - up to 20 km of river!
• Their poo is called spraint - it smells sweet and musky and is often the only way you know that an otter is in the area.
• After almost disappearing from much of Britain in the last century they are now making an impressive come-back - BMG even has a record from very close to the Oracle Shopping Centre in the centre of Reading!!

 Find out more about the species on the Mammal Society's fact sheet and please record any sightings (of them or their signs) one our website

December 2014 Mammal of the Month

We're pleased to announce that our Mammal of the Month for December is the harvest mouse! 
 

Harvest Mouse Nest - Photo Credit Amanda Lloyd

Our top five harvest mouse facts are: 

• They have 2-3 litters a year 
• They weigh just 4-6 g on average 
• Spotting a nest is the easiest way to detect their presence. These are built at least 30 cm above ground in grasses or reeds and can be up to 10 cm in diameter for a breeding nest 
• They have prehensile tails - useful for climbing! 
• They live 18 months on average. 

Find out more about the species with the Mammal Society's fact sheet and don't forget to record any sightings or signs of these or any other mammals for us here. 

Committee member Amanda Lloyd is carrying out research into harvest mice - you may have seen her requests for volunteers to help out with surveys. Why not help out - a great chance to learn more about these tiny rodents!

November 2014 Mammal of the Month

We're pleased to announce that our Mammal of the Month for November is the Fallow Deer 

Photo Credit: Johann-Nikolaus Andreae (Wikicommons)

 

 

 

 

Our top five facts for this species are:

• They were introduced to the UK by the Normans - they originally come from south-west Asia - and are now the most common deer in the UK.
• They are in between roe deer and red deer in size and have spotty coats and a white bottom edged with black stripes.
• The rutting season is October and November so keep an ear out if you're out and about in the woods this month.
• Females can live up to 16 years in the wild.
• Nearly 2/3 of their diet is grass but they will also browse young trees and eat acorns, beech mast and chestnuts in the autumn.

Please record your sightings here

If you'd like to find out more about this species check out the Mammal Society's fact sheet here