The charismatic dormouse is one of Birchwood’s cutest residents. They spend over half of the year (October-May) in hibernation so it is believed their name derives from the French to sleep (dormir). These nocturnal, secretive mammals make woodlands, hedgerows and dense scrub their homes. Sadly they are declining in number and range and are becoming rarer and more vulnerable to extinction.

At Birchwood we are installing a number of special nesting boxes for dormice. Not only do these provide safe nesting sites for the dormice but monitoring the boxes (under licence from Natural England) allows us to keep an eye on our population. All habitat management we carry out is done sensitively to minimise disturbance to these lovely mammals. We are also reinstating old woodland practices such as coppicing that help create the perfect habitat for dormice.