Today, 1st March, I took part in my first Harvest Mouse Nest Survey, organised by the local National Trust Team from Calke Park. The survey is part of a national project that takes place during February & March, which are the best months to look for last years summer nests. The nests are very tiny, and extremely difficult to find. They are very well constructed and are about the size of a tennis ball.
The survey took place at Calver’s Rocks, Foremark Reservoir, South Derbyshire, one of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s SSSI reserves. National Trust and DWT are working closely together to manage and protect some of the special habitat at this site. Some very interesting projects are planned, and further surveys are due to take place during the year, covering a range of fauna and flora.
I was chuffed to find 3 nests out of a total of 8, from 2 separate colonies. Each colony held 4 nests and was in a different type of sward habitat.
