Sadly, the overall news isn’t good; the State of Nature report, published in late September 2023 by a partnership of over 60 conservation organisations, finds that small mammals such as mice, voles and shrews, have declined by 29% since 1970. Coincidentally that’s the same landmark year that my teenage self began to pursue a more in-depth interest in mammals in favour of almost equally fascinating birdlife… but despite my notorious passion for bones and the mammal skeleton, I’m not solely responsible for that shocking decline!

Apart from the sobering State of Nature news, and on a more optimistic note, there is still much to learn and delight us in the often-unseen world of mammals. Shropshire’s well-known pine martens and eagerly anticipated beavers continue to hold local attention, but a cheap wildlife camera can offer remarkable insight into what creatures may be visiting your garden, which need not be very big – or very wild – in order to offer a home to small mammals or indeed to attract others. I’m lucky to live in a very rural location, just a few hundred metres over the Shropshire border and surrounded by grazing fields, but my cameras have detected a whole menagerie of mammals:  Field vole, Bank vole, Wood mouse, Brown rat, Pygmy shrew, Common shrew, Water shrew, Mole, Weasel, Hedgehog, Brown hare, Grey squirrel, Badger plus some random unidentified bats.

Many of the tiniest mammals won’t be easily captured by most wildlife cameras but I have a secret weapon; a Mostela, a wooden box with an access drainpipe through which small mammals can easily enter and leave.  There is a close-focussing camera at one end of the box to film the visitors. Without this box it’s unlikely I would ever have seen the three shrew species and probably not the weasel either. And although I’ve seen badgers along the lane, I’ve never ever seen one at the house until one showed up on camera. Similarly, it has to be twenty years since I’ve seen a hedgehog in the garden; I don’t think they’re resident, though they show themselves on camera several times a year.

Mammal activity is not confined to the hinterland of the Shropshire borders though, as my Shrewsbury friends have filmed or observed foxes, badgers, muntjac deer and even polecats in their gardens within the perimeter of the Shrewsbury by-pass.  Otters have been seen on the Rea Brook and from the English Bridge. Shropshire is well within the distribution area of the feisty Yellow-necked mouse, too.

The national Mammal Society is currently taking a keen interest in a few unexpected discoveries of an invasive shrew species, the Greater White-toothed shrew, isolated cat-kills of which have been reported from the North East of England. These shrews have been found on Guernsey and Alderney in the Channel Islands (but not Jersey- that island hosts the Lesser WT shrew), are native to Europe, but an invasive species in Ireland, possibly a competitive threat to the Pygmy shrew.

Are they anywhere else in Great Britain? Cue the Mammal Society’s #SearchForShrews, an appeal for citizens up and down the country to report any and all shrews (indeed, any small mammals) seen or captured by cats or other pets. You can help our vulnerable mammals by keeping your cat indoors during dusk and dawn and ideally overnight; this will undoubtedly be of benefit to the cat too, since this is a peak time for traffic accidents. Please report any small mammal sightings initially to Shropshire Mammal Group via SMGrecord@gmail.com with details of when, where (OS Grid reference please!) and by whom the mammal was seen. If you have a photo or video clip so much the better!  They’ll pass on any relevant records to the Mammal Society. Happy mammal watching!

Ric Morris is a Shropshire Wildlife Trust Membership Recruiter and Editor of the Shropshire Mammal Group Newsletter

More information on the greater white-toothed shrew can be found here. If you're interested in learning more about Monstela camera trap boxes, more info can be found here.