Woodland Animals in Autumn: the Polecat Returns!
As autumn gets underway, meet the animals who use the woodland for hunting, foraging and homes—including our star bandit, the polecat!
A huge willow tree blew down in our historic Victorian spinney in the spring storms this year. After clearing the path, we left a lot of the remaining tree as deadwood in the spinney because of its value to wildlife. Since then, lots of animals have been caught on our wildlife camera using the fallen tree and the ground beneath it for shelter, hunting and foraging—particularly as autumn gets underway!
One of the most exciting videos captured the return of the polecat! We’ve captured polecats on camera before in our spinney and it looks like they are here to stay! This polecat was exploring one of the holes beneath the branches of the fallen tree.
Bunnies are regular features under the tree and often pop out of the very hole that the polecat is exploring!
We’ve also seen a lot of birds exploring the branches, like robins and wrens.
Squirrels also love exploring, especially as they prepare for winter.
We’ve also seen lots of wood mice and bank voles! At this time of year, wood mice are collecting and storing berries and seeds and switching to underground burrows in preparation for the winter.
Bank voles are busy looking for hazelnuts—if the squirrels have left any!—and late blackberries. They don’t hibernate, but they do make food caches in the autumn.
Find Out More
Click the links to meet the owls, and badgers who live in the spinney! You can also read more about the importance of deadwood for the environment.
These are part of our blog series on British wildlife and a series on the people and wildlife of South Asia, from the altitudes of the Himalayas to the dense mangrove forests of Bangladesh!
We also offer online private tuition in our interdisciplinary course, Culture and Conservation, in which you can explore the links between our natural and cultural heritage and study wildlife and cultures from across the world! This is a template of a possible study route and can be combined, adapted, or designed from scratch to suit your interests and goals.
Dr. Orton will work with you to design a course of private tutorials tailored to your needs, ability and schedule. Click the link to find out what it’s like to work with her and contact us to find out more!
Do More
Think about your own area and how you can protect vulnerable but important parts of your own environment. You might even want to start your own project investigating the cultural importance of wildlife in your area. Dr. Orton works with independent scholars undertaking their own research for an independent project, people writing a book or simply those who have a personal interest. Click the link to find out what it’s like to work with her and contact us to get started!
Reach Out
We’d love to see what you’re doing to help wildlife in your area. Follow the Conservation highlight reel on the Orton Academy Instagram to see what we’re getting up to and tag us in to any snaps you put up!
