Hazel Dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius L.) monitoring

We were privleged to be able to support PTES with carrying out the October dormice monitoring at PTES Briddlesford Woods, working to strict COVID-19 guidelines as a group of six, and as households of three groups of two. The weekend being also my only opportunity in 2020 to continue with training towards the goal of holding a dormice licence.

We enjoyed and recorded dormice nests, family groups and individual dormice.

Along with the dormice we also encountered wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) and pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus), in the dormice boxes; as well as the island speciality red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in the woodland canopy above. I also observed a red squirrel careering around the garden of our Air B&B, whilst partaking in my morning coffee.

Ventnor Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis L.) and assorted butterflies - Ventnor, Isle of Wight

A quick visit to Ventnor this morning, in particular to the undercliff and sea wall on the eastern side of the town, produced sightings of both target species: wall lizard and Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia).

The Glanvilles were very flighty only allowing a hasty record shot or two, and none were seen at roost with wings up - to be able to capture the underside in any photos. We saw Ca. 20 individuals although this could well of been higher?

Glanville fritillary

However, the wall lizards were to be the real show stoppers of the day, with several very confiding animals being recorded.

The supporting cast of butterflies were as follows: small blue (Cupido minimus), dingy skipper (Erynnis tages), Adonis blue (Polyommatus bellargus), common blue (Polyommatus icarus), peacock (Aglais io), holly blue (Celastrina argiolus), large white (Pieris brassicae).

Isle of Wight extended weekend perambulations

Hazel dormouse

Muscardinus avellanarius

Dormouse monitoring

Briddlesford Woods

Dormouse bridge

Briddlesford Woods

Common cow wheat Melampyrum pratense

Briddlesford Woods

The weekend started with two days of hazel dormouse monitoring in Briddlesford Woods, a site owned and managed by Peoples Trust for Endangered Species. It also provided an opportunity to take a closer look at the fabulous dormouse bridge, which spans the railway running through the woodland.

An encounter with common cow wheat along the woodland rides, would prompt a later diversion to St Lawrence Shute to see the beautiful - yet still not quite in full flower - field cow wheat (Melampyrum arvense) which grows in some number on the south facing bank of an arable field. A once common but now rare plant that is found on only a few sites in the country (Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust 2017).

Field cow wheat
St Lawrence Shute

On our third day, we took a left at Ventnor and walked the undercliffs of Wheelers Bay connecting with 10's of Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia).

By chance we met the gentleman responsible for managing the site for Glanvilles, who generously gave us a full tour of the undercliffs, and provided an insight into the management history / process and progress to date.

Recent management prescriptions had focussed on recreating patches of bare ground behind the sea defences to promote opportunities for the early successional Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), the butterfly's primary larval food plant. In one large area chalk had been deposited to create a defence against an over-topping sea. Behind this new defence the ground had been scraped back to bare earth / gravel. At one end of this scrape an artificially sloping bank was installed, to create micro-climates within the bare ground habitat.

After our impromptu private tour we got the sunshine and the Glanvilles in spades! We noted six other butterfly spp. on the wing, along with a splendid hummingbird hawk moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).

Glanville fritillary

Wheelers Bay

After a late lunch at the Spyglass Inn we walked west out of Ventnor, starting at the car park adjacent the coastal path. A scan of the walls of the car park, provided the briefest hint of a wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) dropping out of site into marginal vegetation. At Castle Cove a single lizard showed as it crossed the footpath running between the sea defences. A hasty record shot was obtained, and then we arrived at Steephill Cove, where we grabbed some refreshments and decided to retrace our steps, as the heat of a long day out in the sunshine was finally catching up with us.

Our return along the sea defences of castle cove provided an opportunity to watch wall lizard in small numbers (Ca. 10 individuals seen), as they basked and moved along the rocks behind the sea wall. Despite their proximity, and the splendid views we enjoyed I failed to get anything other than record shots. Several Glanvilles were also flying in this area.

Castle Cove - looking East

wall lizard

Lasiommata megera

St Boniface Down

On our final day we undertook a 8 mile round walk on the downs above and to the north of Ventnor. Successfully connecting with wall butterfly (Lasiommata megera), whilst dipping on Adonis blue(Polyommatus bellargus). A couple of adder (Viperus berus) basking in mid-afternoon sun doubled our reptile list for the weekend.

Bibliography

Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust, 2017 [Online]
St Lawrence Bank

Hazel Dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius L.) survey with PTES on IOW

An enjoyable and educational weekend undertaking the extensive hazel dormice nest box survey based in woodland on the Isle of Wight, managed by the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES).

Along with recording mammal activity. British Trust for Ornithology had requested that data on birds nests also be recorded. All nest box recording activity was undertaken with respect to suitable licences, and supervised by a licence holder for each cohort of surveyors.

Mammal species found by this survey cohort were hazel dormice and wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) - different nest structures were found including woven unstructured, woven structured, brown leaf nest.

Bird's nests were identified as blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), great tit (Parus major) - not shown - and wren's (Troglodytes troglodytes). Seperating the first two types of nest was not as easy as the descriptors indicated, as crossover of features was noted when birds were present - as such where birds were not present ID may have been more subjective.

Bee's nests were also found in the nest boxes, the only bees found by this survey cohort was later identifed as belonging to the tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) a recent colonist to the UK - first found in Wiltshire in 2001.







unstructured woven nest
containing single male dormouse

brown leaved nest with single wood mouse



unoccupied blue tit nest (above)
seven recently fledged blue tits in nest (below)

woven structured hazel dormouse nest containing three dormice



wren's nest

Bombus hypnorum (record shot)

IOW Wasp Spider

This photograph of a ♀ wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) with her newly made egg sac was taken at a site on the IOW.

Isle of Wight Cornflowers

Via Fe and Chuck Eccleston:

A couple of weeks ago we joined a 'Farmland Visit' organised by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust to Cridmore Farm, Chillerton on the Isle of Wight. The visit was organised to enable members of the public to see the extensive areas [approximately 5 acres] of Corn Marigolds Chrysanthemum segetum which were interspersed with large numbers of Cornflowers Centaurea cyanus, these fields can be seen from the road but only show up as bright yellow patches in amongst the green fields of wheat.

Both these plants are in a nationally perilous state due to the introduction of herbicides and fertilisers in the 1950's. By the end of the 1970's a dramatic decline was noted in the Cornflower throughout the country and it is now only found in its natural state in three small sites: Suffolk, Lincolnshire and the Isle of Wight.

The owner of the farm, together with his farm manager, take great care to preserve these wildflowers which have occurred naturally on the site for in excess of 100 years.

The presentation by the G&WCT also focussed on the decline of many farmland birds including the Grey Partridge Perdix perdix, Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella and Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra and the measures farmers can take to assist their recovery i.e. Stewardship Schemes run by Natural England.

Cornflower

Corncockle

Corn Marigolds and Cornflower

Corn Bunting

Yellowhammer