Hazel (common) dormouse

TO many people a dormouse conjures up the image of “Dormy”, the cute dormouse in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Dormy was prone to falling asleep during conversations and they used him as a cushion while he slept.

This imagery came about as hazel dormice are nocturnal and spend a lot of their time in a sleep like state.

When conditions are cold or wet, or if food is scarce, they curl up into a ball and go into a state like hibernation for a short time, called torpor, to save energy.

Dormice are primarily a woodland species and are mostly associated with deciduous or mixed woodland. However, it has been recorded in a range of other habitats including hedgerows, coniferous woodland, coastal blackthorn scrub, orchards and gardens, reedbeds, tussocky grassland and even along motorway verges and central reservations. They have attractive goldenbrown fur, long whiskers, and large black eyes.

One of their most distinctive features is their furry tail, unique amongst small British Mammals, which is about 6-7.5cm long and adults typically weigh between 15 to 30 grams.

Their tail helps make them excellent climbers and they spend most of their time in the branches during the summer, rarely coming down to the ground.

Between October and May dormice hibernate in nests beneath the leaf litter on the forest floor or in the base of hedgerows. Dormice can often be found in the new growth that arises after woodland management such as coppicing or thinning. In spring they feed on the flowers of trees including oak and hawthorn and then move onto later flowering shrubs such as honeysuckle. When available they will eat creatures such as caterpillars and aphids and they fatten up for hibernation on fruits, berries and their favoured hazelnuts.

A tell-tale sign that dormice are around can be observed by inspecting discarded hazelnut shells which have round holes.

The tooth-marks of a dormouse run parallel to the edge of the hole so that the rim looks smooth.

In contrast the tooth marks of voles and mice run outwards, and the hole looks like the milled edge of a coin.

In the UK the hazel dormouse breeding sites and resting places are protected by law under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations.

Dormice were extinct until relatively recently in Nottinghamshire when captivebred dormice were released into three woodlands Treswell, Gamston and Eaton Woods which are owned and managed by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and situated within three miles of each other.

Monitoring activities by the Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group have confirmed successful breeding and 2019 saw the highest counts yet, with a peak count of 44 dormice during August in Treswell Wood, 41 during October in Gamston Wood and 21 in August and October in Eaton Wood.

More information can be found about the Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group at https:// nottsdormousegroup.uk