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I was talking to someone the other day who is surveying the populations of small mammals. They do pretty well here judging by the number of owls (especially Barn Owls) and hawks, and by the mice which eat my crocus bulbs dammit!
It seems they do especially well in meadows grazed by sheep. Probably the lack of chemicals and heavy machinery, and the way the sheep graze, plus the fact they are much lighter than cows and don't compact the ground, are factors, plus all the sheep shit.
In one watermeadow, grazing with sheep raised the population of water shrews (generally quite rare) from 0 to 7.
The study is ongoing for a few more years to guard against temporary effects of weather etc. but looks promising.
I had lamb's liver last week so I'll have some chops to celebrate this week.
Pass the Wellingtons . . .
It seems they do especially well in meadows grazed by sheep. Probably the lack of chemicals and heavy machinery, and the way the sheep graze, plus the fact they are much lighter than cows and don't compact the ground, are factors, plus all the sheep shit.
In one watermeadow, grazing with sheep raised the population of water shrews (generally quite rare) from 0 to 7.
The study is ongoing for a few more years to guard against temporary effects of weather etc. but looks promising.
I had lamb's liver last week so I'll have some chops to celebrate this week.
Pass the Wellingtons . . .
