Dormice 'thriving' after nesting boxes added

Dormice in part of Essex are now "thriving" after work to provide them with a suitable habitat, a charity said.

Essex Wildlife Trust, which runs nature reserves across the county, shared news of a successful project in the north of the county via Facebook.

It said it put up monitoring tubes in the unnamed location last year and found a single nest. Fifty nest boxes were introduced this spring.

By October, the trust said it counted 15 individual dormice, including juveniles.

Dormice are found in Africa, Asia and Europe and are known for their long hibernation periods.

Volunteers had carried out work at reserves in the north of the county over the past few years to ensure the habitat was suitable for the rodents.

In the spring of this year, the trust, along with Thames Chase Forest Centre, near the M25, planted the nest boxes in the hope of seeing numbers rise.

"By October, we had counted 15 individual dormice, including juveniles," a spokesperson for the trust said.

"This means they're not just there, they're breeding and thriving."

The spokesperson added: "The mix of young trees and scrub they created is now a perfect dormouse habitat.

"A tiny species... and a big success story for local wildlife."

Update: This article has been edited to make it clear that the project relates to a certain part of Essex, and not the entire county, and that it was not the first recorded sighting of the animal.

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