Our Ecology and Conservation team have been using a remote camera to record some of the smaller wildlife species that call the Sidmouth sanctuary their home.
The motion-activated camera, along with a small tunnel, has been set up by the willow beds next to the wildflower plots, where small mammal activity has been recorded before.
Over the past few months, the camera has recorded a wide range of small mammals including voles, shrews, wood mice (below) and a tiny bird called a dunnock (above).
The camera and tunnel were loaned to us by Sarah Butcher, Devon Harvest Mouse Project Officer at the Devon Mammal Group, who we have shared our findings with before.
In 2022, Pascal Bisson, our Apprentice Ecology and Conservation Officer, managed to film a short video on his phone of a harvest mouse, one of the UK’s most elusive rodents, in one of the wildflower plots at Trow Farm.
The remote Browning trail camera not only allows us to physically discover what is living around the sanctuary, but also allows us to identify specific species, which indicates the success of our conservation work and the importance of sustainable land management.
This is incredibly important for ensuring long-term habitats for our native flora and fauna, and for providing our resident donkeys with a secure future in an enriched environment.
