Training Day: Harvest Mice

*From the organisers (correct at the time of publishing), please see the organiser’s website for the latest details.

Join Dr Helen O’Brien, the County Mammal Recorder for Leicestershire & Rutland to learn about the ecology of Harvest mice (Micromys minutes), an under-recorded and potentially endangered UK mammal recently introduced onto the Cotesbach Estate to help their conservation and re-establishment in south Leicestershire. Learn new skills – how to set up equipment to record these secretive creatures and search for their nests to see if they are settled in their new home.

Our afternoon session will extend to other small mammals and their ecology before a visit to the Estate and Garden to check traps and see small mammals up close. We will be joined by Dave Nicholls from NatureSpot who will show us how to record the wildlife we find. All participants will have an opportunity to check and handle small mammals if possible and to use the NatureSpot phone app – see instructions https://www.naturespot.org/app

Please bring sturdy footwear for outdoor walking and dress for the weather.

The walk from the Schoolhouse to the Estate and return will be approximately 2 miles over uneven terrain, typical of a working farm.