This April, London’s hidden corners buzz with the activity of its smallest predators. From stoats raiding nests for eggs to weasels darting through undergrowth, these agile hunters are on the move. Discover the secret lives of moles, shrews, and bats as they emerge into the spring air. Don’t miss the full story of April’s small but mighty mammals on 08 April. Return to explore the fascinating world of London’s lesser-seen wildlife!
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Stoats and Weasels
Stoats and weasels are busy creatures this month. They are raiding early nests for eggs, with weasels even being small enough to enter the holes of nest boxes. Both eat a wide variety of small animals, but weasels tend to prefer mice, rats and voles. Stoats take all of these, but have a preference for young rabbits even though does will fight to protect them. They also climb trees to take ‘sleeping’ birds at night. Both have litters this month or the next. Stoats only have one litter a year, usually with five to eight young, but occasionally up to thirteen. Weasels have smaller families of between four and six, but they will breed again.
Both like walls or crevices to build their nests, which are usually made of grass and perhaps some bracken. For now, both their young are totally dependent upon their parents. If disturbed, they may decide to move their family, weasels noticeably arching their back more as they are seen running.
Moles
The mole’s breeding season is also well underway. Within the quiet confines of her fortress the female now bears her young. She has eight nipples, but usually only three or four young. They are pink and naked, but already show the broad shoulders and strong front limbs typical of their parents. Being naked and underground, they stay close to their mother for her heat. Here they will quickly feed upon her milk for the rest of this month, unless she is disturbed, in which case she may well decide to move them. It will be two weeks before they have any fur and three before their eyes open.
Other Mammals
There is still much chasing, sneezing and chattering among grey squirrels; they are still giving birth to their first litter or suckling this month. Their grey winter coat is now getting progressively more yellow-brown. Many of our mice and shrews are now either building nests or attending to their young. In the case of young wood mice, the males develop quicker than the females. Like many other mice, they are born pink, naked and just one or two grams in weight; in a fortnight, their eyes will have opened and in three weeks they will be weaned and have quadrupled their weight. The ability of some rodents such as field voles to mature in a few weeks and then start families of their own, means that in ideal conditions plague numbers can quickly develop. Some shrews are still courting, which can involve the male not just biting her neck but even the top of her head, with many females having a bare patch to prove it. Others have already given birth, tinkling noises in hedgerows giving away their location. Some of their squeaks are so high pitched they are well above our hearing.
Dormice wake up at last in the middle of the month, but are still very lethargic. They immediately construct small nests using strips of honeysuckle in which to rest during the day. Warm periods with many newly emerged moths this month means you may sight the first bat of the year which could well be a high flying noctule. They often congregate at night near flowering willows by water where, with luck, other bats may also be seen skimming over the surface of the water like swallows.
