Found a Dormouse? (1 Viewer)

[david2004]

I have a Dormouse nestbox up on a tree in the copse outside my house. Blue Tits nested in it last year, but unsuccessfully. When I checked the box after they'd left, there were five unhatched eggs.

Today I looked in it pre-cleaning and found it was full! There was no flattened down moss at all. It was a ball of moss, feathers and old (fallen) leaves. Could it be a Dormouse? I read somewhere on the web that if it was a Dormouse, the leaves used wouldn't be fallen leaves, but ones picked in the canopy instead. What else could be in there?

Also, on the legal side, what can I do? If it is a Dormouse, I have to submit a record (especially as the site has been eyed by developers recently!), but I understand I can't interfere. I couldn't see anything in it, and the only way to find out would be to take it down.

Help!

 

[gareth_blockley]

David,

It is most likely to be a Wood mouse. Dormice hibernate, mostly at ground level or just underground, and wouldn't hibernate in the nest box as the temperature would fluctuate too much.
If it is a nest of a Dormouse, from the Autumn, it would be very closely woven into a ball and there will be no obvious entrance. They do use leaves and sometimes moss but mostly use stripped bark. If leaves are used they will use live leaves not dead ones, if they are grey in colour now they were live when the nest was built if they are brown they were dead already.
On the legal side I would sugest you try to find someone to advise you locally (if it is a nest you'll need a licence to check the box or remove the nest). They are a European protedted species so it is illegal to disturb them and you shouldn't try to check them during the spring, summer and autumn.

This is a huge subject so i'll sugest some further reading, hope i have helped a bit.

Gareth

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/dormouse.shtml
http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=462
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1377
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1994/Uksi_19942716_en_4.htm#mdiv39

 

[devon.birder]

My garden is a registered Dormouse site and I can tell you that they do use nestboxes to hibernate in. For the past few years they have used three different nestboxes in my garden and they are excellent climbers. I would suggest you advise your local Wildlife Trust if you are sure they are Dormice. I often find Dormice trapped inside my seed feeders and I had a photograph of three inside a feeder published in a recent BBC Wildlife Magazine.

 

[david2004]

Thanks very much Gareth and devon.birder. I'll try to find out if it's a Dormouse. I'll also look at those helpful links. I'll keep you posted! From the description of typical nests I'm guessing it will be a Wood Mouse, but there's always a possibility!