Tracks and signs images needed.

[mh68]

Little Owl pellet, originally posted by 2dogs2000...



Mark H

[mh68]

Red Squirrel feeding signs on a pine cone. Note the rough edges where the scales have been removed.



Mark H

[mh68]

Originally Posted by mh68

Red Squirrel feeding signs on a pine cone. Note the rough edges where the scales have been removed.



Mark H

As a footnote to the above pic in the quote. In the shot above, the lack of loose strands where the scales have been torn off may signify the work of a Woodmouse, but the location of the cone showed a Red Squirrel to still be the culprit - Woodmice will carry off the cone to a sheltered spot to feed eg in a hollow at the base of a tree, whereas Squirrels leave them out in the open , which is where this cone was found.Forgot to add that yesterday...

Mark H

[vole-woman]

Have you got an acorn eaten by a dormouse? If not, give us a shout.

[mh68]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

Have you got an acorn eaten by a dormouse? If not, give us a shout.

No Kate, if you have a pic that would be great

Mark H

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

[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.

[mh68]

Originally Posted by 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.

Thats what I thought Dan, on both points, cheers mate

Mark H

[vole-woman]

Any chance of anyone loading a picture of a dormouse-eaten nut, so I know what I'm looking for next time?

I found these on the internet:

http://www.greatnuthunt.org.uk/gnh/gnh2.asp

http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th1k.htm

http://www.bottomwood.org.uk/page8.html

Wonder if it's possible to contact any of the owners of these sites and ask if we could use their nut pics? The first one, for example - I can't see them saying no as it's helping spread the word.

[mh68]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

Any chance of anyone loading a picture of a dormouse-eaten nut, so I know what I'm looking for next time?

I`d echo that...searching google images came up with nothing, and even my reference books dont have visual examples of Dormouse feeding signs.

Mark H

[vole-woman]

searching google images came up with nothing

- There are images in each of the links above, Mark.

[mh68]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

searching google images came up with nothing

- There are images in each of the links above, Mark.

Yeah I saw Kate, I posted while you were still editing your post to add the links

Mark H

[mh68]

Some new images from this morning...

Buzzard pellet - no bone fragments at all,just fur, as opposed to an owl pellet. Birds of prey divide their meals so as not to swallow large pieces of bone,unlike Owls.Also note the saliva at one end of the pellet, indicating it has been regurgitated and not deposited as a dropping.



Ageing Rabbit droppings, showing the exclusive plant material content,and how the colour fades with age.



Extensive damage to tree trunk by Great Spotted Woodpeckers...



Roe Deer bedding area in a secluded woodland clearing.



Bark removed from a large fallen branch by Roe Deer.



Entrance to Field Vole run in rough grassland.



Wood Mouse burrow in a rough meadow, this one went down about a foot under the ground before levelling out,ruling out Field Vole, which mostly have shallow, or surface runs.The open nature of the entrance is also uncharacteristic of Field Voles, which would tend to be right on the edge of tall vegetation.



Mark H

[Kayleigh]

Crow pellet found on a bridalway.

[thunder]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

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.

I agree with Dan (and others further down) - this is the work of a Woodmouse (or Yellownecked Mouse!). Dormouse holes are almost always neatly circular.

The other point is that it is not an acorn, but a Hazelnut!

I have some black and white pictures of Dormouse nibbled hazelnuts - if I can find them I will post them.

henrya

[stripee]

I think this is an otter spraint, found today in stream on quartz stone

[mh68]

Originally Posted by stripee

I think this is an otter spraint, found today in stream on quartz stone

Looks good for Otter, but always worth having a sniff to be sure....Otter smells like Lavender, Mink is a little less, erm...fragrant

Mark H