Bottom Wood
Bottom Wood
Do you have dormice?
Although dormice themselves are hard to find, there is one sure sign that they are present. They feed on nuts in the autumn to fatten up for hibernation. They eat hazel nuts in a special way, different from other small mammals. If you look under hazel trees in the autumn, you may find shells that have been gnawed by dormice. If you do, dormice must live nearby. Squirrels, woodmice, voles and other animals also eat hazelnuts, and they are more common than dormice, so the special dormouse shells will only be a small proportion of the empty shells.
Special signs
Dormice gnaw into hazel nuts slowly with their small teeth, turning the nut as they work. The result is a round or slightly oval hole, usually in the side of the nut. Around the hole there are often tooth marks at an angle to the hole. The cut face of the hole is scooped smooth, and slopes steeply towards the centre of the nut.
Woodmice also leave toothmarks on the shell. Voles do not, but both these mammals cut across the shell edge with their teeth. Squirrels often bite the shell in two, or leave it broken and jagged, as do woodpeckers and nuthatches.
Although dormice themselves are hard to find, there is one sure sign that they are present. They feed on nuts in the autumn to fatten up for hibernation. They eat hazel nuts in a special way, different from other small mammals. If you look under hazel trees in the autumn, you may find shells that have been gnawed by dormice. If you do, dormice must live nearby. Squirrels, woodmice, voles and other animals also eat hazelnuts, and they are more common than dormice, so the special dormouse shells will only be a small proportion of the empty shells.
Special signs
Dormice gnaw into hazel nuts slowly with their small teeth, turning the nut as they work. The result is a round or slightly oval hole, usually in the side of the nut. Around the hole there are often tooth marks at an angle to the hole. The cut face of the hole is scooped smooth, and slopes steeply towards the centre of the nut.
Woodmice also leave toothmarks on the shell. Voles do not, but both these mammals cut across the shell edge with their teeth. Squirrels often bite the shell in two, or leave it broken and jagged, as do woodpeckers and nuthatches.
