Wildlife Crime Talk on June 11th – Venue Confirmed
We are pleased to announce the venue for this event - the Rougemont Room at Exeter Central Library. Doors will open at 7pm. There's still spaces so if you haven't already booked now is your chance! Email contact@devonmammalgroup.org or call 01626 862078.
New Event – Wildlife Crime in Devon
11th June, 2014 - 7pm
Exeter City Centre – venue to be confirmed
A talk by Devon & Cornwall Police Sergeant Dave Knight on the work of a Wildlife Crime Officer with a particular focus on mammals.
Unfortunately due to water damage at our usual meeting room at the White Hart we are having to arrange an alternative Exeter location for this event. Once this is sorted we will announce the venue here and anyone who has already booked will be contacted.
£1.50 for members, £3 for non-members.
Booking essential – please book via email to contact@devonmammalgroup.org or call Tom Williams on 01626 862078.
New Event – Meet The Mammals
Sunday 11th May - 10am until 12 noon.
Upcott Grange, Broadwoodwidger, Lifton, PL16 0JS
We are please to announce our first outdoor event of 2014! A talk and site visit with wildlife expert Derek Gow, going behind the scenes of the BBC’s "The Burrowers".
For more details please see the flyer here: derek_gow_mammals
Wed 30 April 2014 AGM & news
Our first event this year will be at the University of Exeter on Wednesday April 30th from 7pm
Forum Exploration Lab 1, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus.
The Forum is the large glass-fronted building in the middle of the campus off Stocker Road, adjacent to the Northcott Theatre. Lab 1 is on the first floor, next to Costa Coffee.
Registration and drinks will take place at 7.00pm, followed at 7.30pm by a brief AGM and a series of short talks about latest projects and news, including:
WATER VOLES – A NEW SITE IN DEVON !
Speakers will be:
Adrian Bicker: Living Record online recording system
Ellie Knott: DBRC records review
Derek Gow: Water Voles in the West Country – A New Site in Devon
Mervyn Newman: A review of the East Devon Water Vole Project
Fiona Mathews: Bats and Lighting
Free for DMG members; non-members £3.00
PTES “Living With Mammals” Survey
Deer in Haldon Forest (by Li-Li Williams)
The People's Trust for Endangered Species has announced a new survey aimed at understanding and encouraging the biodiversity on our doorsteps.
The survey starts on Monday 31st March and all you have to do is spend some time observing a chosen site (such as your garden or allotment, a churchyard or local park) each week, noting any mammals you see or the signs they leave behind. Click here to take part.
You can share your findings and photos, and learn from others via the PTES facebook and twitter pages. They will be having a competition for the best mammal photos taken during the survey so get snapping and sharing.
For more information about the survey and its findings to date take a look at the PTES survey updates section.
Geoffroy’s Bat – A New UK Species…
A round up of some of the news coverage of the recent discoveries of Geoffroy's Bat in the UK.
The species was first found in Sussex in 2012:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
http://www.naturalengland.org.
http://www.surreybats.org.uk/
The Sussex individual was located again this year, and in September a second bat was found at Brown's Folly near Bath:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
http://www.bathchronicle.co.
For more information on the sightings see the Bat Conservation Trust's report here: http://www.bats.org.uk/news.php/220/a_new_resident_or_a_visitor_geoffroys_bat_in_britain
The individual found near Bath was only about 50 miles from the Devon border so who knows, before too long it may be added to the list of Devon mammal species!
National Polecat Survey – Records Wanted
In January, The Vincent Wildlife Trust is starting a national polecat distribution survey, following on from two previous surveys in the 1990s and early 2000s. The aims of the survey are to gather up-to-date information on the current distribution of the polecat in Britain and investigate hybridisation between polecats and ferrets. They will be collecting records of polecats, polecat-ferrets and feral ferrets from all over mainland Britain during 2014 and 2015.
Have you seen a polecat, polecat-ferret or feral ferret in Devon? If so, the VWT would like to hear from you. Ideally, records should be verified by photos where possible, to allow them to classify animals as polecats, polecat-ferrets or hybrids. They will also be collecting carcasses which will be used for genetic analysis and rodenticide analysis. They will be operating a carcass postage scheme, so if you find a carcass, they will send you a postage box for the animal to be returned in, free of charge.
For more information see the leaflet here or visit the VWT's survey page: http://vwt.org.uk/our-work/projects/national-polecat-survey
Christmas Quiz… Book now!
Just a reminder that there's still time to book a place at the DMG Christmas quiz evening, Thursday December 5th at the White Hart in Exeter. See the events page for full details and booking instructions.
26th November, 7pm – Snippets Evening
We have now finalised the line-up for this upcoming evening of short talks. Speakers include some previous recipients of the DMG Small Grant Scheme as well as students involved in local research projects:
- Stephen Powles – Otters and Camera Traps
- Mark Elliot – Devon Beaver Project – the story so far …
- Julie Day – The effects of street lighting on Bats
- Rob Ballard – Stover’s elusive Otters
- Amy Fensome – Do human-altered environments make bats stressed?
- Betina Winkler – Farm habitat characteristics and the incidence of Bovine TB in cattle.
£1.50 for DMG members, £3 for non members. Booking essential, please contact Sue Smallshire on 01626 853393 or suesmalls@btinternet.com to book
Badgers – a talk by Adrian Bayley
We are pleased to announce an event specifically aimed at our North Devon members who find Exeter too far to travel to attend our regular talks. Next Friday (15th November, 7pm) Devon mammal expert Adrian Bayley will be speaking about badgers at Fremington Village Hall - more details here.
Welcome to our website
The Devon Mammal Group was formed in 1999 by a keen group of like-minded people all with an interest in furthering the conservation of mammals within the county and further afield.
The group organises an extensive programme of events throughout the county including training on mammal tracking, talks about on-going and potential mammal projects both locally and nationally. We also organise regular European trips and a topical symposium with national experts in regular attendance.
We have members throughout the county regularly reporting mammal sightings and observations through a discussion forum. By becoming a member of the group you will be helping further the conservation and understanding of mammals in Devon and have access to a wide range of expertise.