• The House Mouse is a rodent and the most familiar of British mammals.
• Other relatives include the Harvest mouse, Yellow – Necked, Wood mouse and Dormouse.
• The Harvest mouse makes a nest like a cricket ball slung between 2 corn stalks.

HABITAT & FOOD NEEDS.....

• House mice frequent buildings of all kinds and countryside places especially near corn stores.
• The Wood mouse is the commonest countryside mouse living in woods, hedgerows and scrubland.
• The Yellow – Necked mouse lives in similar country areas but only in S.E.England and the Severn Valley.

SPECIES IDENTIFICATION & RECORDING......

• The House mouse is grey / brown with paler under parts and is from 16 – 18 cm. long.
• The Wood mouse is dark brown with large, dark eyes.
• The Harvest mouse is the smallest rodent about 8cm. in length with a prehensile tail.
• When recording their presence the place seen can be a useful guide.

SLUGS (Suborder: Stylommatophora)

INTERESTING FACTS......

• There are 2 main groups of British slugs …. The Roundback and the Keeled slug. A third group, the Shelled slugs are less common.
• Slugs have voracious appetites.
• Although hermaphrodite, the slug rarely fertilises itself but mates with another animal.

HABITAT & FOOD NEEDS.....

• Slugs loose moisture quickly so must live in damp places among soil and decaying matter.
• They emerge only at night or on wet days.
• Slugs eat carrion, fungi and plant tissues including cereals, clover, root and potato crops. They can cause real damage to a crop that takes their fancy.
• They lay soft, amber eggs under stones or in other damp places. Tiny slugs will emerge in a month unless the eggs are laid in autumn when they will remain until spring before hatching.

SPECIES IDENTIFICATION & RECORDING......

• The Great Grey slug is a keeled slug, having a ridge along its back.
• It can grow to 20cm. in length.
• The Garden slug is grey / brown and has a dome-shaped body.
• Field slugs vary in colour from grey, brown and yellow and are also roundbacks.
• To record slug numbers go out at night with a torch, especially if it is damp.

BRACKET FUNGI (Class: Homobasidiomycetes)

INTERESTING FACTS......

• There are more than 10,000 species of fungi which grow in Britain.
• Many are poisonous but some are edible. No fungi should be eaten until it has been positively identified as edible.
• They range in size from pinhead moulds that grow on bread to the giant puffball which can be as big as a football.

HABITAT & FOOD NEEDS.....

• They either grow on the dead remains of plants and animals or as parasites on living organisms.
• The majority of a fungus consists of a mass of threads running through the soil. The visible part, above the ground is the fruit in the form of mushroom or toadstool.
• The fruits start to appear with the damper days of early autumn.
  

SPECIES IDENTIFICATION & RECORDING......

• Bracket Fungus (Grifola gigantean) is banded shades of brown growing from oak and beech trees from July to January.
• Beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica) resembles a large tongue and is reddish brown on top. When cut it bleeds a red juice and looks like meat. It is found on deciduous trees especially oak from August to late autumn.
• Razor Strop (Piptoporus betulinus) is the commonest bracket fungus growing exclusively on birch trunks. The top is smooth grey/ brown and the underside is creamy white. It can live for several years.
• Autumn is the peak time to record sightings of the vast array of fungi. An organised Fungi walk with an expert would be a fascinating experience. Check the Kent Wildlife Trust website for their guided walks calendar.