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Shrewsbury, Shropshire, United Kingdom
FSC Preston Montford has been an outdoor classroom since 1957 and is a Field Studies Council centre. We deliver curriculum related outdoor education by the experts; from pre-school to Masters level; for infants, school students, undergraduates and enquiring adults with an interest in the natural world. Courses for schools and individuals. A venue for others to use; with bed space for 130, catering facilities and 7 fully equipped teaching and meeting spaces.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Things that go bump in the night...


Here at FSC Preston Montford whilst the staff and (hopefully!) students are soundly asleep, our centre wildlife comes alive with activity.

As part of our species monitoring efforts, we have various methods to keep track of what’s going on.

Skinner moth trap:

From Spring to Autumn, once a week, our Skinner moth trap is put out overnight. Its brilliant bright bulb (don’t look directly at it once it’s fully lit up!) attracts moths in the area. They fall into the trap and find a nice selection of empty egg boxes to rest in for the remainder of the night. In the morning, members of our team retrieve the trap and set to work identifying the catch before releasing them again. The team has become very skilled at moth ID and can tell a Hebrew Character from a Common Quaker.


Common Quaker Moth
Hebrew Character Moth















Hedgehog tunnel:

This is our most low tech, but possibly my favourite, of our night time monitoring kit. A toblerone-shaped tunnel is set out overnight. In the middle of the tunnel is a plate with cat food on it to attract our favourite spiky creatures. As they enter the tunnel they walk through a strip of ink (don’t worry it’s non-toxic and biodegradable) which then causes them to leave a trail of footprints across the paper sheet. In the morning we’re left with a network of tiny footprints to identify the owners – again a real skill!

Bat detectors:

Bats catch their prey and navigate using a high frequency sound which they emit as a series of clicks. The sound bounces back to the bat and they know where things are - echolocation. We can’t normally hear their noises with our ears as the frequency is too high. However, with the use of a bat detector, the high frequency sounds can be lowered to our audible range. Each species of bat is identifiable by the noises that it makes – the frequency and series of clicks or slaps is unique to each. With a bat detector and a field guide, you can identify a common pipistrelle from a noctule.

Night vision camera trap:

Our coolest spy-like gadget is our camera trap, which can be strapped to a tree and left out overnight. Anything that sets off its motion sensor will get caught on camera and stored on the SD card. If you leave it in a known wildlife hotspot and point it the right way, you might just get some awesome shots or video footage of something interesting! Alternatively you can just end up with awkward shots of yourself and branches swaying in the wind… Worth the effort to get a badger wandering by, or an otter along the river.
Caught on camera - badger


Longworth mammal traps:

Our most used monitoring kit and a favourite of visiting school groups. These humane, small mammal traps are set out under hedges stocked with hay, various foods and some apple (for the juice). We return the next morning to check them and usually have a selection of mice and voles to show the children. Occasionally, the elusive shrew will even put in an appearance! The creatures are all released promptly and are left well-fed and rested and unharmed by the experience.

Whilst some of these are not going to be suitable for home use, a bat detector or a hedgehog tunnel is certainly worth considering for use in the garden! We definitely enjoy checking in the morning to see what’s been going on in the night!

If you would like to learn more about these monitoring techniques, why not browse our courses list to find one relevant to your interests - http://www.field-studies-council.org/centres/prestonmontford/learn/natural-history.aspx

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