I spent the morning walking up hill and down dale in woodland checking dormouse nest boxes. I suspect we probably checked about a hundred and fifty. We found two sharing a box, a male and female; both were torpid but equally gorgeous.
This I think is the male, who was slightly heavier.
There were several boxes occupied by blue tits or great tits, including one or two where they'd all died. We forget the mortality rate of these small creatures is quite high. Also on display were some butterfly orchids and a pyramidal orchid. All in all a nice morning out though my hips are aching now.
Comments
awwww
cute little buggers. wish we had anything like that here, but more likely to find a brown recluse or a scorpion than a dormouse.
Teresa L.
Excellent encounter
It's a shame that cuteness hasn't been an effective survival trait for these little animals. It should certainly not hinder their case for conservation though. I hope the extended cold spell isn't harming them.
Teri Ann
"Reach for the sun."
Nice to see such a cute critter
Sadly, I ran over a Squrrel this afternoon as I was out with Gwen Brown for a drive. We were heading back towards her home along the north side of the river when the critter ran out right in front of me.
As there was oncoming traffic and cars behind me, I had no choice but to hit it.
Thankfully dormice aren't that stupid (as to run across a busy road).
/S