Harvest Mice on Camera Traps!

A camera trap has been placed adjacent to one of the supplementary feeding stations in the harvest mouse release enclosure and in the first 12 hours, it has been actively used. It seems activity patterns are cyclical, with peak activity thus far recorded between 04.00 and 06.00 am. Mammal ecologists believe some small mammals in the wild will alter their activity patterns to avoid predation, so it will be interesting to see if captively reared animals share this innate survival instinct. As well as the harvest mice, another creature has appeared on film. Leave a comment if you think you know what it is!

Update on Ottercam

 

With the camera trap positioned adjacent to the otter holt at Drayton, we were hoping for an elusive otter to appear on the footage. Take a look at the video's to see what turned up and leave a comment if you think you know what the mystery species might be........thanks! J

Countryside Management on BBC Television and Radio this Week!

We posted this story on Facebook today.......

BBC Look East paid a visit to the College yesterday to learn more about one of our ongoing wildlife conservation research projects. They were able to interview PhD researc...her Emily Howard Williams to find out a little about her project and to meet the charismatic wild animal in question – the elusive harvest mouse. As Britain’s smallest rodent, the harvest mouse has declined in numbers in Britain in response to agricultural intensification, habitat loss and use of pesticides and it’s conservation status remains uncertain. Therefore, Emily’s project aims to shed some light on the ecology of this declining and elusive wild mammal, and together with ex-student and director of Ecometry (http://www.ecometry.co.uk/) Dr David Wallis and Senior Lecturer Dr James Littlemore they have devised a species reintroduction scheme here in Northamptonshire with innovative technology to monitor animals post-release using Radio Frequency identification (RFID). It is hoped the results of this study will help land managers conserve this species and ensure its long-term survival in the British countryside.

The BBC are likely to feature the sequence on their new bulletin on friday or over the weekend. Emily also went on drivetime on BBC Radio Northampton last night to spread the word. Some photo's of the release site are shown below:

Harvest Mouse Soft Release Enclosure Finished!

Well it is now reaching a critical time for Emily's captively bred harvest mice as a small fenced enclosure is now finished which will hold them. This is located in rough grassland on the College estate and provides optimal habitat to understand how they disperse and interact. Animals have been fitted with electronic tags and a mosaic of readers designed by David will hopefully determine their behaviour over 24 hour periods. Essentially, we want to find out more about the ecology of this highly elusive and secretive mammal and aim to use our observations to advise land managers on how this tiny mammal can be conserved.

I will post some pictures, commentary and video of progress over the next week or so. Keep reading, J.