Devon Mammal Group Newsletter

December 2017

www.devonmammalgroup.org Registered charity No. 1110056

Pete says:

When you’ve lived in the West Country – Falmouth, to be precise – for four

years and have fallen in love with that part of the world, the thought of potentially

leaving the area upon finishing university this year was about as appealing as

glass in the feet. As a naturalist with a particular obsession for mammal ecology

and conservation, I was therefore delighted to find myself employed as the part-

time Harvest Mouse Project Officer for Devon Mammal Group this autumn. This

allows me the chance to embellish my love for wildlife within my favoured

stomping ground of the beautiful South-west!

I am definitely no stranger to Harvest Mice and am delighted to be able to

contribute to efforts that we hope will paint a clearer picture of their status in

Britain. I have kept these charming little rodents in captivity for over three years

after falling under their spell while working with them at a wildlife park. Their

confident, curious and charismatic natures make them fantastic ambassadors for local nature at events – as

well as very distracting office companions!

In terms of their wild cousins, in my several years of small mammal trapping experience they have proved

elusive, as many will be able to relate to; just two captures from traps I have set. But thankfully, if we want to

establish whether Harvest Mice are present in an area all we have to do is search for the nests. It’s relatively

easy to do once you know where and how to look, and with little chance of disturbing the animals given the

breeding nests are abandoned over winter.

Simple sounding enough, but of course Devon isn’t exactly small-scale. Surveying the whole of one of

England’s largest counties is undoubtedly going to be a team effort, so one of the most important parts of my

role is to increase the training capacity and size of our volunteer army. In a classic ‘teach a man to fish’

scenario, we’re running fortnightly training mornings for a network of Harvest Mouse spotters, which at the

time of writing stands at nearly 90 signed up names.

By heading out and sending in your records, you’ll help to build up a map of Harvest Mouse presence in

Devon that is far richer than anything we could do on our own. With so few records in the county, we need

these nest searches before we can make any assumptions about whether they’re common or rare, or even

help contribute to the national picture. By joining as a volunteer nest spotter, we hope to give you the perfect

combination of a bracing time out in nature, and the chance to contribute to valuable citizen science.

You can also help by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/devonmammalgroup/

harvestmouse on our website (www.devonmammalgroup.org) to donate to the project.

Peter Cooper

The exciting news for DMG members this month is that the Harvest Mouse Project is up and

running, with a new Harvest Mouse Project Officer, Peter Cooper. Over 80 people from DMG,

DWT, consultants and the general public have signed up to hunt for nests this winter! Peter

has run several training sessions already and is raising awareness of the project with land

managers, farmers and reserve wardens across the county. The BBC has filmed Pete and

Project Manager Jess, along with two of my Harvest Mice, who performed like pros, at Escot

and we hope to see the footage on Spotlight soon.

Sue Smallshire

Small Grants Scheme

We’ve had some great project applications in this year, from funding dormouse tubes in the Avon Valley, to helping to pay for educational materials for a Red Squirrel project in our schools.

More recently we have loaned small mammal traps and trail cameras to Exeter University students, Luke and Sally, which will help them with their project to survey for mammals across the campus. We have also funded the purchase of some hedgehog tunnels for them to use. These tunnels are baited to tempt the hedgehogs in. To get to the tasty morsels they have to walk over an ink pad and so they leave a trail of footprints behind them. Lets hope some hedgehogs will take the bait, but I’m sure there will be plenty of other footprints in there too! There are surprisingly few mammal records from the University campus, so we wish Luke and Sally all the best with their project and we can’t wait to see the results. We'll bring you up to date with all of our projects soon.

Would you like to apply for a grant to fund a small project?

To see how to apply, or to look at other projects we have funded visit our website:

www.devonmammalgroup.org

Jess Smallcombe

This map, last updated 14/12/2017

shows the hectads (10-km squares)

where surveys have been carried out

during the project so far. Yellow shows

where Harvest Mouse nests have been

recorded and red, where surveys have

been carried out but no nests found yet.

We are encouraging volunteers to look

where ever they can, as all records are

important to us, but to particularly focus

on those squares where no surveys

have been carried out so far.

If you are not already involved in the

project and would like to join us, or if

you would just like to be kept informed,

please contact us.

The map in updated each week and

sent out to our volunteers, but is also

available to see on our website, along

with other up to date news on the

project.

www.devonmammalgroup.gov.uk

Facebook @devonmammalgroup.

Twitter @HarvestMiceDV

or contact Pete at: harvestmouse@devonmammalgroup.org - 07568 079409

What’s been happening this Autumn?

On September 6th together with Devon Wildlife Trust and Devon Bat Group, we

ran another popular ‘Pips and Pints’ event around St. David’s in Exeter. This was the second bat event of the year and participants were treated to an autumn ‘look and listen’ for bats, mostly pips (pipistrelles), culminating in a visit to the local pub for a friendly drink, mostly pints! ‘Pips and Pints! takes place every year, so look out for the spring and autumn Exeter bat walks in 2018.

September 10th

saw Adrian Bayley running yet another ‘What’s on Your Doostep’ mammal trapping course for DMG, at member Jon Valter’s amazing Coombe Mill site, near St. Giles on the Heath. As usual, with his lifelong skill in mammal tracking, he found signs of, and trapped, a great many species, including an elusive Harvest Mouse. The well attended day was thoroughly enjoyed by all the participants. Thanks again Adrian!

On September 19th

, Stephen Powles gave us a captivating talk about Hammer Scar, the female Otter he has been watching for some years. She has successfully raised several families including two young this year. We were treated to some outstanding video footage which provided and insight into the behaviour of this otter, her cubs and her suiters. Stephen, along with Adrian Bayley are running a one day course in January, aimed at training a small number or people in the technique of spraint analysis.

We were invited to attend Devon County Council’s ‘Farmwise’ event at Westpoint on October 10

th this year. This totally child focussed event gives

young people a hands on experiencing of farming and related activities including, milking, cheese making, bread making, weaving and a wealth of other things. Various wildlife groups also provide practical acativities for the children and the Devon Mammal Group stand gave them the chance to be a ‘Mammal Detective’ and to identify mammal tracks and poos!

October 14th saw Tom and Li-Li Williams up in the Haldon Forest at the crack of

dawn! The height of the rutting season is an exciting time to watch deer, and yet again they invited DMG members to join them for some good views of melanistic deer at sunrise. Keeping silent and not moving around too much are essential if you are to be rewarded with views, but this was a successful outing, including brief views of a stag, for those brave people who were prepared to get up so early.

On November 8th we put on our first event in Plymouth and were delighted to

have a enthusiastic audience of around 40 people and to attract some new members as well. Sue Seyer presented a delightful talk entitled ‘The Secret and Surprising lives of the South West’s Grey Seals’. Sue is a passionate and animated speaker and has been studying these animals for over 17 years. This was our second talk on sea mammals this year and we plan to invite Sue back to talk to DMG members next year. You can see her article on the next page.

Paul Chanin, DMG member and President of The Mammal Society, retired last year from consultancy but hasn’t hung up his boots! He and two friends had the adventure of a lifetime in Botswana and neighbouring countries. His talk in Exeter on November 22

nd, entitled ‘Aardvarks and Elephants: when I was in

Africa’, gave us a taste of the fantastic mammal encounters they had. During this five week camping trip they saw nearly 60 species of mammals, including 16 carnivores, had very close encounters with Elephants and even found footage of an Aardvark on one of their trail cameras.

Seal ID: Help needed

Grey seals are a Devon speciality species, a globally rare wildlife spectacle for the county’s stunning coastal

habitat. Are you interested in making a positive contribution towards protecting this iconic species? If you

have some time on your hands and reasonable IT skills, Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust (CSGRT) are

looking to create a small team of volunteers to support existing photo ID research on both Devon’s coasts.

CSGRT has an international reputation for its photo ID work which was presented at the Society for Marine

Mammology Conference in Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada in October 2017. CSGRT’s system for photo ID has

seven steps: photographing seals; photo album preparation in PowerPoint; seal ID - matching catalogue to

album photos in PowerPoint; input of data to Excel; data collation in Access; data analysis in Excel and

report writing in Word. Each seal team member does one or more of these steps (the first in the field and the

rest in their own home). You don’t even need to live locally for most of these steps, as you can work

seamlessly alongside the remote CSGRT team in Cornwall via a broadband connection. We know this works

brilliantly as our seal IDer for north Devon lives in west Cornwall! Why is this work important? Understanding

what individual seals do (in terms of joining habitat, being healthy, associating with others, having pups and

life expectancy) is critical to informing our joint conservation efforts.

Email sue@cornwallsealgroup.co.uk for more information or to join our Devon seal ID hub. The two images below show the movements of two seals between Cornwall and north and south Devon.

’Ghost 2’ has been recorded regularly

between West Cornwall and North Devon

’Gull Flying’ has moved between west Cornwall and Start Point.

Sue Sayer

New! - Sea Mammal News

Operation Otter is a volunteer-led, quarterly otter survey, which takes place across Devon. It was set up in 1997, by Mary-Rose Lane, the Otters and Rivers Project Officer at Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT).

The otter population in the UK crashed in the 1950s, due to habitat loss and the effects of organochlorine pesticides getting into the rivers. Otters disappeared from many parts of the country, but were able to hang on in the southwest. The National Otter Surveys of England carried out in 1977-79, 1984-86 and 1991-94 had shown that otters were beginning to return, but the survey methodology meant that only part of Devon was surveyed. A better picture of otter distribution was needed.

Mary-Rose set up a network of over 200 trained volunteer surveyors, known as Otter Spotters. The Otter Spotters surveyed 600m stretches of riverbank, in March, June, September and December, looking for signs of otters. The records were sent to the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre (DBRC) to be added to their database. The volunteers looked for signs of otters – footprints and droppings (spraints) rather than looking for the otters themselves. Otters are mainly nocturnal (although they can occasionally be seen in daytime) and are very shy, so seeing an

otter was very unusual, and a very special experience.

DBRC took over the running of Operation Otter in 2000; I ran it for a few years, then my colleague Caroline Jones took over. Over the years we trained up over 100 volunteers, and collected over 5,000 records of otters. Running Operation Otter meant that we were sent some very interesting samples to identify. In the days before digital cameras, the surveyors used to send in samples of droppings if they were not sure of the identification. Otter spraints have a very distinctive smell, rather like jasmine tea, so are fairly easy to identify. However, people also used to send in mink scats, which smell disgusting. Opening the post could be hazardous!

The otter population increased, and otters returned to the rest of the country. The Fifth National Otter Survey of England in 2009-10 concluded that otters were ‘at capacity’ on many of Devon’s rivers, meaning that the rivers were supporting as many otters as possible. Otter Spotters were sending in in sightings of otters, as well as droppings and tracks. Otters were being seen in surprising locations, such as the middle of Exeter, on the Quay, and they were regularly filmed climbing up the mill wheel at the DWT office at Cricklepit Mill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hTv85mPHRI

People ask why we bother to carry on with Operation Otter, now that the otters are out of danger, and there is no funding for the project. However, the records that the Otter Spotters collect are incredibly useful, and are used by DBRC on a daily basis. Otters and their habitats are fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC Act 2006) so otter records are very important for the Planning process. Also, otters are a top predator, so are a good indicator of the health of the river. If the otters are doing well, then the rivers must be in good condition, with plenty of fish.

I would like to say a big Thank You to all of the Otter Spotters, past and present, for spending their time walking river banks, and sniffing otter droppings! I hope we can carry on for the next 20 years, and that surveying for otters

20 years of Operation Otter by Ellie Knott

continues to be something that people can enjoy. Hilary Marshall, one of our long-standing Otter Spotters said:

‘I did one of my Operation Otter sites this morning and was rewarded with a Dipper singing - I had forgotten my binoculars so just absorbed the music. I have been surveying two 600m stretches on the River Carey for 19 years now and have enjoyed it enormously. Spraint numbers have ranged from 0 to 56. The zero was incredibly unusual - due to having to survey when the river was bank full (probably not allowed now due to health and safety considerations). The river has changed and moved, trees have fallen, shallows have become deep and vice versa. Digital cameras were not available when I started but I would recommend anyone starting now taking a few shots

of 'their' river for later comparison. I have only once seen an otter whilst doing my surveys but there is always something of interest. One of the Somerset volunteers gave up her otter surveys at the age of 91 - I don't suppose that I shall stay fit enough or be around for that long but who knows L.’

New! Bat News

A huge amount of valuable bat research is going on in Devon and we will give you reports and

updates from the various groups who are contributing as they come in ...

Three Counties Bat Conservation and Research Group

This group, headed up by John Kaczanow (JK), had another busy year carrying out harp trapping, mist netting and hand netting, as well as box and tree roost inspections.

The valuable training John provides has helped many enthusiasts and professional ecologists, young and old, to develop their understanding and handling of bats, as well as developing their survey skills. One area that John and his team have been visiting for some years is DWT’s Sourton Quarry, where they concentrate on ringing (starting in April 2016) and radio tracking Greater Horseshoe Bats. He says that this process has recorded an

increase in bats passing through, including a few juveniles and many sub-

adults (mainly females). Most have been captured with the resident ‘master’ male, with mating frequently observed. Autumn assemblage site (swarming) captures recorded 12 species and a total of 179 bats.

Other regular visits are to Hittisleigh Wood, to ring and radio tracking Barbastelle Bats, and to Horse-bridge, where over 60 Daubenton’s Bats have been captured at a time.

John’s photo (left), taken at the Nursery Roost at Tula Barn in Branscombe, shows the wing flicking display of the Greater Horseshoe Bat. It’s thought that this has never been recorded, photographed or published before!

Photos by JK ‘Jinkzee’ Sue Smallshire

The Sid Valley Bat Research Project

Sidmouth Science Festival (sidmouthsciencefestival.org) is focussed on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, the biological aspect having been the weakest element overall. In 2015 Louise Woolley was asked to provide a wildlife aspect, with a funding opportunity for a project suggested. Out of this evolved the Sid Valley Bat Research Project, a citizen science project that involved many types of surveying and members of the community throughout the Sid Valley. It is a voluntary led, long term, catchment scale project which now has funding for bat survey equipment from the NINEVEH Trust and the Sid Vale Association.

There were very few records of bats from the Sid Valley until 2015, when the project began. The objectives include identifying species and their flyways and raising awareness of the issues that bats face with the public and landowners. This has provided records which will help to increase conservation in the valley in the future and hopefully help people of all ages to appreciate conservation issues and to get involved in all types of survey.

The activities that have been undertaken so far are:

• 55 local people have been involved in surveying, along with members of the Devon Bat Conservation and Research Group.

• 37 sites have been surveyed with static detectors.

• 14 public events, including talks hosted by Sidmouth Town Council and various surveys with over 200 people attending overall.

• 15 sites have been surveyed with mist nets and harp traps at a variety of locations including Local Nature Reserves and private conservation areas.

• Static detectors have been deployed on sites with the cooperation of East Devon District Council, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust, the Forestry Commission and the National Trust, as well as conservation areas owned by the Sid Vale Association and many private individual sites.

What we have discovered so far:

• 30 roosts have been identified, 21 of common species and 9 of the rarer Annex II species (Barbastelle, Lesser Horseshoe and Greater Horseshoe).

• The valley appears to have Barbastelle activity throughout the valley, which we will be focussing on next year, trying to find the areas of highest activity and hence maternity roosts.

• Soprano Pipistrelle is the commonest bat, with Sidmouth containing many large roosts.

• The importance of the River Sid for foraging and commuting; all 10 species use the river.

• Important foraging grounds supporting up to nine species in one season.

• No Bechstein’s or Grey Long-eared as yet!

Hopefully the project will continue to be as successful next year. We now have had a website under construction (donated by Bespoke Web Designs) to keep everyone up to date with the project.

If you would like to know more, especially if you live in the Sid Valley, please contact

louise@devonecologyandwildlife.co.uk.

Louise Woolley

Our next quarterly newsletter will feature articles on the activities of Devon Bat Group and

Devon Bat Conservation and Research Group

Mammal Society’s 64th Spring Conference and AGM

The Mammal Society’s 64th Spring Conference will be held at Exeter University from the 20th-22nd April 2018.

The 2018 Spring Conference will include our usual wide array of speakers introducing their mammal research, stalls, conference dinner (with mammal themed quiz) and plenty of networking opportunities.

The conference will begin with the Cranbrook Lecture (speaker to be confirmed) on the evening of the 20th April and presentation of our Mammal Photographer of the Year 2018 prizes. The conference will then continue with talks about a variety of mammal research through Saturday 21st April and the morning of Sunday 22nd April, with Sunday afternoon consisting of conservation themed workshops for delegates.

Day delegate – member £85 / non member £115 / student member £50 / student non member

£80(Includes entry to the conference and lunch for one day only)

For further information and full package prices visit: www.mammal.org.uk

Please note the Friday evening Cranbrook Lecture is a free event open to the public.

Helping Hedgehogs

It is the second year of Hedgehog Watch and Chair of the Mammal Society, Professor Fiona Mathews, did a Radio 4 broadcast with John Humphrys, explaining our aim is to try and understand more about the Hedgehog decline. We hope that some DMG members supported this research by filling in the Hedgehog questionnaire. If you didn’t - it’s not too late to tell us! We’d love to know whether you have seen a Hedgehog (dead or alive) or not, this year in Devon.

As ever, records to DBRC please http://www.dbrc.org.uk/. DMG is also supporting the Mammal Society’s pilot Hedgehog and lighting project. The aim of this research is to find out whether lighting affects the feeding behaviour of Hedgehogs. Results will be shared in the New Year.

Photo: Pat Morris Kate Hills

DEVON HARVEST MOUSE PROJECT

Training for Volunteer Recorders

Friday 19 January 10am-12.30pm Rolle Estate Office, Bicton Arena EX9 7BL

Would you like to take part in an easy, exciting and important survey?

Join Peter Cooper, Devon Harvest

Mouse Project Officer to find out

more including a visit to nearby

farmland to search suitable habitat

and provide you with the skills

needed to survey and record in the

field.

To book a place please contact:

kate.ponting@clintondevon.com 01395 446 918

FUNDRAISING AUCTION

In March 2018 we will be holding a fundraising auction to raise money for further work on the Harvest

Mouse Project. We are looking for items, loosely related to wildlife, such as paintings, ornaments,

pledges and promises that will be attractive to buyers.

If you think you can donate anything to the auction that will raise money for our project please contact:

Kate Hills - khills@southwestwater.co.uk

CHAIR’S CHAT

It’s been a very busy year for DMG and I am thrilled that we have managed to provide so many talks

and events for members. We have collaborated with a number of other groups, DWT, Clinton Devon

Estates, Devon Bat Group and Dartmoor National Park to name just a few, to bring exciting social,

training and family events to Devon. Our winter talks are very popular and attract good audiences and

we have had a fantastic response to our Harvest Mouse Project. Having our new Project Officer, Pete,

has raised its profile and I’m amazed at the records that are already rolling in. It appears that Harvest

Mice are being found in most areas we have searched, which is great news. Nevertheless we will

continue to work to establish just how widespread they are and will talk to landowners and land

managers about how best they can help to protect their valuable habitat.

My thanks once more go to our speakers and to the committee, for the fantastic work they put into

running DMG and we would all like to wish you ...

Sue Smallshire