Shropshire Mammal Group formed in 2019 to survey and monitor the mammals of the county by running monitoring sessions with a range of equipment and through mammal tracking. The data gathered on species like roe deer, otters and water voles is kept on record to allow developers and ecologists to ensure they are considered in planning applications.
Like other wildlife such as birds and insects, many types of mammals are reducing in numbers, the most recognisable being the hedgehog, with numbers plummeting from over 50 million in the 1960s to less than 1 million today. It is only through wildlife monitoring projects and surveys that this information can be obtained, but it can be intensive work to find many of our mammals and a lot more people need to be involved to get a realistic view of the current situation in Shropshire.
Our smallest mammals – harvest mice and pygmy shrews, are so small (around the weight of a 20p) that it takes a big effort to find them. Many people mistake baby wood mice for harvest mice, but harvest mice are much rarer and usually limited to living in long grassy areas, when wood mice are happy to live anywhere. There is then another type of mouse called the yellow-necked mouse, which is easily mistaken for a wood mouse, but not everyone has ever heard of them. A lot of people refer to seeing field mice, which are actually a species of vole called short-tailed field voles. These are currently classed as the most numerous mammals in the UK with a population of over 75 million.
All these mini mammals are key parts of the natural landscape. Without healthy numbers of small mammals, there wouldn’t be much for kestrels and barn owls to feed on and research shows that when small rodent populations fall, so do those of the predators that feed on them. Rodents also give a good indication of the overall health of the environment. Their numbers go up and down from year to year, depending on weather and changes in land use but they can quickly disappear from areas that become laden with chemicals or have hedgerows and fallow field boundaries removed.
Shropshire is a rural county and over 80 per cent of the county’s land cover is dedicated to agriculture. Nature reserves make up a tiny proportion of the county, which why there are developing initiatives to restore patches of habitat and create connections between them to enable wildlife to move around freely, rather than being stranded in small islands of habitat with nowhere to go. There are increasing numbers of landowners taking an interest in restoring areas of habitat for nature on their property. Restoring hedgerows, planting trees and keeping some areas of field margin unmown and unploughed all have a significant benefit for a range of insects, birds and mammals. But landowners need the backing and financial support of the decision makers and private financers to take part in nature initiatives, and the Government needs to do more to support them.
The wildlife of Shropshire is one of the many things that makes the county special. The aim of wildlife organisations and conservationists here isn’t to re-wild the county, but to restore spaces for nature; for local communities and visitors to enjoy. With the support of more people, it is possible to do just that. To keep the momentum up, it is key that more people are reconnected with nature and efforts are ramped up to raise awareness of the importance of wildlife on the health of the environment and the people who depend on it.
Stuart Edmunds is a self-employed wildlife specialist with over 20 years of experience in nature conservation, including stints in mainland Europe, Australia and North America. He is also Chair of Shropshire Mammal Group.