Southend builds 'mouse houses'

New homes for Southend dormice are a runaway success.

The small furry rodents, protected by British and European laws, scuttled back on all paws to curl up in special nest boxes at Belfairs Nature Reserve, Leigh-on-Sea.

Their purpose-built accommodation was installed early in 2006, after three dormouse nests were found in the reserve in 2004 and eleven the following year.

Throughout 2006, Southend Dormouse Group monitored the 28 new wooden nest boxes.

These proved such popular pads for discreet dormice to raise their families in, that 22 of the boxes contained either live animals or nests during the monitoring checks.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Culture, Sport and Amenity, Councillor Ann Holland said, “After finding the dormouse nests in previous years we knew that dormice were in the reserve, but we are pleasantly surprised by the success of the nest boxes."

“Six litters of young dormice were recorded in July, September and October. In September, one single nest box contained two adults and five young, and in one single check in October there were a total of 19 adults and five young, the largest number found at any one time."

“It seems that the nature reserve is home to a healthy population of dormice and we will continue to try and encourage the species to breed in the reserve.”

Southend Dormouse Group was founded in 2004 from local dormice fans keen to help the species flourish.

It studies the distribution of dormice in Dodds Grove and Hadleigh Great Wood, known locally as Belfairs Nature Reserve.

The nest boxes, when used, can help to increase the density of the dormice population by adding to their naturally occurring nesting and offering new breeding places.

As dormice are protected by law, they may not be intentionally killed, injured or disturbed, so Southend Dormouse Group needs a special licence to be able to monitor the dormice nests.