Innovative mammal conservation
I was delighted last year to learn that the 8th International Colloquium on squirrels, an international gathering of squirrel researchers from around the world, would take place on my doorstep at the beginning of June 2018. OK, I admit I exaggerate just a little. I live 22km north of Galway city and the venue for the Read More
30th July 2018
Music is often seen as a cross-cultural connector, a vessel that has little need for the spoken word though still has the uncanny ability through melodic symphony to invite us along for the journey and let us enjoy the ride. The magic of music need not cease at the human race. Nature too has its Read More
19th July 2018
‘Wales’ rarest mammal is back’ is what is now proudly portrayed on the wall of our brand-new Pine Marten Den, and I don’t think I was the only member of the Pine Marten Recovery Project team who felt a little teary reading it. It’s been a long and stressful three years, interspaced with the most amazing Read More
11th June 2018
The Back from the Brink Pine Marten Project is the first time we have volunteered with The Vincent Wildlife Trust (which we thoroughly enjoy). We were introduced to the many aspects of this species and project when we saw it advertised in the local press and social media. We knew Kevin O’Hara (VWT’s Back from Read More
4th June 2018
The small mustelids (weasels and stoats) are among our hardest mammal species to study. Monitoring them has proved challenging as they do not leave easily visible field signs and are generally elusive and rarely seen. Without robust and reliable monitoring methods, it is almost impossible to collect any data on weasels and stoats. They have Read More
21st May 2018
What kind of professional journey has led you to where you are today? Lucy: I have worked in both conservation science and conservation delivery and have always been interested in mammal ecology and conservation. I did a PhD at the University of Aberdeen in small mammal ecology on set-aside agricultural land, before working for the Read More
27th April 2018
I started camera trapping about five years ago for my own enjoyment to look for polecats on the Mawddach Estuary. A few years later, I started volunteering for the Mammals in a Sustainable Environment project, where we were monitoring hair tubes and camera traps at Cwm Mynach to look for red squirrels. Cwm Mynach has Read More
11th April 2018
It was not long after VWT’s Henry Schofield had undertaken some radio-tracking of Bechstein’s bats in 1997 from a Sussex ‘swarming’ site, that the Dorset Bat Group had some money available to purchase some bats boxes. Henry found that the bats he tracked (males) often roosted high in the trees. Looking back, it’s probably a Read More
3rd April 2018
From the early feasibility stage of our Pine Marten Recovery Project through to the post release monitoring of the pine martens, discussions with local farmers have been continual. Our conversations primarily concern the pine martens, but range widely over topics such as anecdotal observations of wildlife, predator/prey/livestock interactions, land use – both current and historical, Read More
16th March 2018
Although I have been volunteering with the Pine Marten Recovery Project (PMRP) for two years, I am yet to see a pine marten (and not for the lack of hours looking for them!). Radio-tracking is the task I most often help out with for this project and each session tends to follow a similar pattern… Read More
1st March 2018