Thursday 28 July 2016

Small Mammal Trapping Course

We held a small live mammal traping course on tyhe reserve over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of July. It was led by Ann Hanson from the Yorkshire Mammal Group. Nine people took part in it and we gained experience in how to capture, identify and sex small mammals. We had a great time and learnt a lot about the small mammals that we have on the reserve. A big thankyou to Ann and Robert for a great two days. We now aim to build on what we have learnt.
                                      Some of the group learning how to prepare the traps
                                                  Field Vole. Note the short tail
                                                                       Field Vole
                                         Bank Vole being sexed. Note the longer tail
                                                          Bank Vole in a viewing tank
                                                         Wood Mouse in viewing tank
                                             Wood mouse having a good clean
                                                     Wood Mouse being sexed
                               Wood Mouse in a bag ready to be weighed and recorded
                                                           Common Shrew in viewing tank

2 comments:

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Love the big ears on the wood mouse

B.Nield said...

I can tell you Simon, the Male Wood mice had more than just a pair of Big ears!!!!