Living elusive existences, the mid-size and smaller mustelids have adapted perfectly to lifestyles hidden out of human sight. They inhabit terrain and habitats that limits access for surveys and monitoring and it is very possible that there are mustelids living right on people's doorsteps that they have never even noticed.
Monitoring the population and distribution of martens, polecats, stoats and weasels could be the key to offering them more protection in the future. This course aims to demonstrate how effective camera traps have become in determining the presence of mustelids and offers an insight into best practice for setting up cameras in a range of situations.
Topics covered also include:
Using bait and lure stations
Combining camera traps with enclosed mammal tunnels
Where to place camera traps for the best results
Reviewing footage/images and advice on camera trap settings.
Stuart Edmunds is a self employed wildlife conservation specialist with a particular interest in carnivores. In 2009, he set up Shropshire Pine Marten Project with the intention of verifying or rejecting historic records of the mammal in the county. The project successfully recorded pine martens in 2015 and has been conducting further surveys across Shropshire ever since.He has been chairman of Shropshire Mammal Group since 2013 and has worked for Natural England, The National Trust and Shropshire Wildlife Trust while running independent training on wildlife tracking and monitoring for universities and ecology consultancies. He was awarded a conservation award by International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2019.
Entry level: This event can be attended by people who have little to no pre-existing knowledge of the topic and wish to develop an initial understanding.
Accessibility:
We are committed to ensuring the accessibility of our training courses. If you require accommodations or have any accessibility concerns, please contact Fiona (training@themammalsociety.org) in advance, and we will be happy to assist you.
For booking terms and conditions click here.
*Please note - If not enough delegates book on to this course it may be postponed with two weeks notice, this is because we are a small charity and need to make sure our events are viable.
