| Mammals within Nine Springs are varied. Hedgehogs are around, but are by no means plentiful. Bank, Short-tailed and Water Voles, together with Shrews are more often heard than seen, scuttling in the undergrowth. Wood Mice and Harvest Mice are fairly common and prevalent throughout, as are the smaller carnivores such as the Weasels and Stoats that live on them. Water Shrews have been seen in the source stream at Nine Springs. Rabbits too are plentiful, providing not only the close-cropped grass so important for the survival of certain plants but also a food supply for carnivores. Moles are found both in the woods and the grassland. Foxes and Badgers frequent the parkland. Long-eared and Pipistrelle bats can be seen in the clearings. Noctule Bats hunt along the boundary between Nine Ssprings and Aldon Park. Long-Eared Bats also hunt across the lower area of Wyndham. Bat boxes have been erected in Ninesprings to encourage bats to live and breed there. Grey squirrels are plentiful causing losses to bird life, as indeed do Brown Rats. Mink too may be present and if so no doubt cause considerable losses to wildlife. However, mink avoid humans so they seem to keep clear of the Goldenstones area. This is a blessing because in the brook there is one of the two biggest colonies of the endangered water vole in Somerset. Muntjac deer are only just across the Dorset boundaiy and could well use Nine Springs on occasions. |
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Click on individual
mammal for further information.
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|
Mammals
**** Amphibians ****
Reptiles
|
|
Common Name |
Image
|
Species |
Present |
Signs |
Possible
|
Last Recorded
|
|
Meles meles |
ã |
|
1998
|
|||
| Bats | ||||||
Daubenton’s |
Myotis daubentoni |
ã |
|
2003
|
||
Pipistrelle |
Pipistrellus pipistrellus (45kHz) Pipistrellus pygmaeus (55kHz) |
ã ã |
|
2003 2003 |
||
Brown long-eared |
Plecotus auritus |
ã |
|
|||
|
|
Rhinolophus hipposideros |
ã
|
2002
|
|||
|
|
Nyctalus noctula |
ã
|
2003
|
|||
|
|
Myotis mystacinus |
ã
|
||||
|
|
Eptesicus serotinus |
ã
|
2003
|
|||
| Deer | ||||||
|
|
Capreolus capreolus |
ã
|
2000
|
|||
Muntjac |
Muntiacus reevesi |
ã
|
||||
|
Erinaceus europaeus |
ã |
|
2002
|
|||
| Mink | Mustela lutreola |
ã
|
||||
| Mole | Talpa europaea |
ã
|
1998
|
|||
|
Oryctolagus cuniculus |
ã |
|
1998
|
|||
|
Rats and Mice |
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Apodemus sylvaticus |
ã |
|
1998
|
||
Brown or common rat |
Rattus norvegicus |
ã |
|
1998
|
||
|
|
Micromys minutus |
ã
|
||||
| Red Fox | Vulpes vulpes |
ã
|
1998
|
|||
|
Shrews |
|
|
|
|||
Common |
Sorex araneus |
ã |
|
1998
|
||
Water |
Neomys fodiens |
|
ã |
|||
|
Sciurus carolinensis |
ã |
|
2003
|
|||
|
Mustela erminea |
ã |
|
1999
|
|||
|
Voles |
|
|
|
|||
Bank |
Clethrionomys glareolus |
ã |
|
1998
|
||
Short-tailed (Field Vole) |
Microtus agrestis |
ã |
|
|||
Water |
Arvicola terrisfis |
ã |
|
1998
|
||
|
Mustela ninvalus |
ã |
|
1999
|
|
|
|
Common Name |
Species |
Present |
Signs |
Possible
|
Last Recorded
|
|
| Frog, Common | Rana temporia |
ã
|
1998
|
|||
| Newts | ||||||
|
|
Triturus cristatus |
ã
|
||||
|
|
Triturus vulgaris |
ã
|
||||
|
Bufo bufo |
ã |
|
1998
|
|
|
|
Common
Name
|
Species
|
Present
|
Signs
|
Possible
|
Last Recorded
|
|
|
Anguis
fragillus
|
ã
|
1999
|
||||
| Snakes | ||||||
|
|
Vipera
berus
|
ã
|
||||
|
|
Natrix natrix |
ã |
|
1998
|
||
| Red-eared Terrapin |
Trechemys
scripta elegans
|
ã
|
1998
|
|
Information on British
Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles courtesy of :
|
|
The Mammal
Society - (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/index.shtml)
|
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RAUK
Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK - (http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/default.asp)
|
|
Warwickshire
Batgroup - http://www.jwaller.co.uk/batgroup/default.asp
|
|
Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
|
|
Natural England - http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/default.htm
|
|
Wild About Britain - http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/
|
|
Ophreys Photography- http://www.ophrysphotography.co.uk/index.htm
|
|
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2003 All Rights Reserved
|
|
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