I thought the new peanut feeder was being well used. But just now I found up to three Woodmice feeding on it. It seems they can jump from the tree to the suspended feeder and don't mind dropping four feet to the ground. Still, at least we ain't got squirrels.
Brilliant! First major discovery - behaviour of Bardsey mice in winter. Now do a bit of research - catch and mark a few with colour where it is shows up well and see how far they travel; who are the best jumpers (vary the feeder heights, etc.)
Not so easy to catch now, as they stopped coming in to Cristin since we added thresholds to the two back doors. Though was one caught in the rail trap just now; it has a very sensitive pressure plate. I believe in the past that marked animals have returned from the Narrows. Perhaps we should do an Lincoln Index to calculate the population.
We are Elaine and Jim Lennon, and we have been visiting Bardsey for a week or so every year since the 1980s. However, for a long time now we’ve wanted to over winter on the island and experience the place at a different time of year when they are less people and boats, in order to experience the highs and lows of island life for longer than our usual stay. Through a combination of quitting our jobs and early retirement we are now lucky enough to do this.
Friends and family are keen to hear about our exploits, and with this blog we plan to share our experiences. These are likely to be a mix of our volunteer work on conservation tasks on the island and winter jobs at the Bardsey Bird & Field Observatory where we are staying in Cristin, bird news and our everyday exploits and challenges.
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Brilliant! First major discovery - behaviour of Bardsey mice in winter. Now do a bit of research - catch and mark a few with colour where it is shows up well and see how far they travel; who are the best jumpers (vary the feeder heights, etc.)
ReplyDeleteBevan
Not so easy to catch now, as they stopped coming in to Cristin since we added thresholds to the two back doors. Though was one caught in the rail trap just now; it has a very sensitive pressure plate. I believe in the past that marked animals have returned from the Narrows. Perhaps we should do an Lincoln Index to calculate the population.
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