Tracks and signs images needed.

[mh68]

Remains of a Fox kill on a Pigeon. The broken/chewed ends of the feathers indicate the culprit (seen on the large feather, left of centre on the pic). Birds of prey tend to pluck the feathers leaving clean, unbroken ends to the quills,with the only damage further up, where the quill may be bent or snapped as it was plucked from the victim.



Mark H

[vole-woman]

PS, any chance of adding your Water Vole burrow pic you posted yesterday, that was a goodun worth having in the collection too..

Absolutely. How do I do that, Mark?

[mh68]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

PS, any chance of adding your Water Vole burrow pic you posted yesterday, that was a goodun worth having in the collection too..

Absolutely. How do I do that, Mark?

Just post it on this thread I meant Kate, sorry.

Mark H

[shirl]

Water vole droppings (not formed into a latrine yet) taken this morning



Shirl

[vole-woman]

Just to check: is this clear anough? And do the experts agree this is dormouse nibbling? I think it is because -
a) it's got a smooth inner lip
b) it's got an outer lip of grooves radiating outwards
c) I picked it out of a dormouse box

But I'm willing to stand corrected!

[mh68]

The pic`s certainly good enough Kate. I`m no expert,and dont have enough detailed info to hand,on Dormice signs,so will leave it to the others to comment.

Mark H

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

Just to check: is this clear anough? And do the experts agree this is dormouse nibbling? I think it is because -
a) it's got a smooth inner lip
b) it's got an outer lip of grooves radiating outwards
c) I picked it out of a dormouse box

But I'm willing to stand corrected!

The only thing that puts me off dormouse is its usually a smaller rounder hole, despite its apparent smooth edge in most cases the nut is even smoother than the one in the photo when a dormouse has eaten it. Was the box active? often woodmice use these nest boxes which it looks more likely to be. Sorry but the shape and texture of the hole look wrong for dormouse.

[vole-woman]

Fair enough. I've very little experience of dormice, so I'm happy to defer to those who know more.

(You should see what water voles do with acorns!)

[mh68]

Just scoured through my reference books, and from the limited info there was, it seems the holes gnawed by Dormice are very uniform, with barely discernible individual teethmarks,and a very smooth appearance to the gnawed edges, which reinforces what Dan said.
Question though,what about Yellow Necked Mouse as being a possible suspect too? or dont they use Dormice nest boxes much? Is there any difference between Woodmouse and Yellow Necked Mouse feeding signs?

Mark H

[Dogghound]

You would struggle to differentiate between wood and yellow necked mice feeding signs. A yellow necked mouse is another real possibility and they readily use nest boxes.