Mammal News

Owl pellet analysis

Owl pellets are a very good source of small mammal records. Neil Pinder dissected barn owl pellets from 58 nest boxes across Rushcliffe and identified the remains of 908 mammals of 10 species. Field vole and common shrew made up nearly three quarters of the prey species but some of our scarcer species including water shrew and harvest mouse were also recorded. There was even a mole found which must have been quite a large pellet!

Nottinghamshire Mammals owl pellet analysis

Published 15/04/2016 by Michael Walker

Nottinghamshire Mammals Garden Mammal Survey summary

Garden Mammal Survey Update

Thank you to everyone who has completed the survey form, some of you have seen a lot of species! So far there have been 171 survey forms returned from all over the county. 22 Species have been recorded plus a few additional species which have only been identified to family level or a couple of options e.g. Pipistrelle, Vole etc.

The map below shows where all the results have come from and how many species have been recorded. Each dot on the map covers an area 2km x 2km and may include more than one garden. The record so far for number of species in a single garden is 16!!

The table below shows the percentage of gardens that have recorded each species. Click the map for a larger version

If you haven't completed the survey yet please take a minute to let us know what you have seen

Nottinghamshire Mammals Garden Mammal Survey summary

Published 05/06/2015 by Michael Walker


Notts Mammal Top 10

What are the most recorded mammal species in Nottinghamshire? The list below puts them in the order of how many 1km squares they have been recorded in. It really shows that we are massivley under recording the species which we would expect to be common and widespread, e.g. rabbit, grey squirrel, mole etc, but for other species where there has been a greater degree of recording effort, e.g. water vole, it probably gives a more realistic idea of their distribution in the county.

I'm sure that these positions will quickly change as more people begin to record the mammals they find. When the provisonal atlas was published in September 2014 the mole had only been recorded in 279 squares but a concerted effort by a few recorders has pushed the figure up to 515. Rabbits are probably everywhere but only just make it into the top 10. Their field signs, droppings, burrows etc., are very easy to see so I expect a rapid climb up the chart when the next one is produced in a few months time

Published 27/01/2015 by Michael Walker


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Bank Vole. Paul Adams
Hedgehog. Amy Lewis
Weasel. John Smith
Brown Hare (top banner). Scott Tilley


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Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

The Old Ragged School, Brook Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG1 1EA
Tel: 0115 958 8242 Fax: 0115 924 3175 e-mail: info@nottswt.co.uk
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