Habitats

Part one the woodland floor at night.

Many kinds of mammals, large and small, make their homes in deciduous woodland. Not only do the trees and shrubs provide more shelter from winds, rain and the cold open country, but for mammals that can climb they give extra living and foraging space among their branches. Above all, the different kinds of trees,shrubs and flowers offer a wide assortment of food for the mammals and also a huge number of insects, which are in turn another source of food for the mammals.  A wood covering about half a square mile, can support more than five thousand mice and voles aswell as many shrews, moles, squirrels,  badger and deer. Predators such as tawny owls and weasels and stoats are attracted to these woodlands by the abudance of small mammals. The night flying tawny owl, espeically, depends for food on the mice and voles that forage on the woodland floor. In summer when the undergrowth is dense and small mammals are well hidden it will often hunt over open fields and hedgerows. But when the vegetation dies back again in late autumn and winter, woodland mammals are easier prey. The owl claims a woodland territory  ready for breeding in march. The size of their territory depends on the amount of mice and voles that are available to them. The tawny owl will sometimes eat worms if numbers ger really low. Wood mice feed on more open parts of the woodland floor than bank voles. Several mice will share a space, showing little aggression over nuts, fruits,seedlings and insects it offers, except during the breeding season when they will defend their territory. Woodmice, voles and squirrels will nibble on tops of fungi aswell, boletus is one of their favourites to share. The tawny owl will prey on all of the small mammals that occupy the woodland floor. Below the tawny owls roost you will find its regurgitated pellets, this is all of the indigestable material such as bones and fur. The hazel dormice only ventures out at night to forage mainly among the tree branches. They feed mainly on hazel nuts. They will eat lots of food in late autumn as they are getting ready for hibernation. Bank voles will forage amongst thick cover by day or night. The woodland floor will also be alive with slugs, millipedes,centipedes and woodlice foraging through all of the decaying leaf litter.