Mammal Society Science Officer Frazer Coomber writes:
Pip Mountjoy, Back to the Brink/Shifting Sands Project
On Friday 26 July I joined Philippa (Pip) Mountjoy and a small group of volunteers at the BTO Nunnery offices in Thetford. The event was a training workshop to introduce volunteers to the Shifting Sands project, as well as to the Mammal Society’s Mammal Mapper App, and explain how they can get involved.
The workshop began with a presentation from Pip on the Shifting Sands project. Highlighting the importance of rabbits, a keystone species in the area, and the plans to monitor their numbers in the area and the measures they are putting in place to boost their population numbers. As part of this project, Pip is asking for volunteers to help record rabbits in the Brecks to identify the numbers of rabbits in the area and how these numbers can be boosted. I followed this with a presentation on the Mammal Society’s Mammal Mapper App, introducing its functionalities and how it can be used by everyone to record mammals.
A stroll around the Nunnery Lakes Reserve using the Mammal Mapper App
Following the presentation we took advantage of the hot sunny weather and went for a short stroll around the BTO’s Nunnery Lakes Reserve with the Mammal Mapper App. Providing everyone with the chance to ask informal questions of how, when and where to record mammals. During the good weather we all went around looking for signs and sightings of mammals. We found plenty of evidence of moles in the area, another tunneling mammal and key stone species, and even got a really good view of a male muntjac deer. However, the walk got cut off slightly short as the heavens opened and the rain began! So we headed back to the BTO offices where we got a nice cup of tea and talked informally about the project and the App.
Our route
If you’d be interested in hearing more about the Shifting Sands project why not come along to the Wild About Thetford event which is being held on 16 August? Wild About Thetford is a free event for families, celebrating the unique wildlife in the Brecks, Shifting Sands will have a stall there and would be delighted to see you. Full details here https://naturebftb.co.uk/events/wild-about-thetford/.
For more information about the Mammal Mapper App and how to download it click here. Please get in touch if you would like to know more about how best to use the Mammal Mapper for a specific survey, email science@themammalsociety.org.
For more information about Back from the Brink click here.
