Reserve Species » Vertebrates

The number of vertebrate species resident on the Reserve is not high (142). They are made up of the greater part by birds, of which some 106 species have been identified. This is hardly surprising, given the amount of work done in the area of bird-ringing.

The Reserve has a relatively small number of recorded mammal species, which range from Roe Deer to a number of bat species. This illustrates the work still to be done on surveying and monitoring species. What is surprising is some of the gaps - no hedgehogs were seen on the Reserve until the early summer of 2004. No doubt there are other species, which have yet to be found.

Although Foxglove Covert does not catch many rarities in national terms, like other sites it has both its regular inhabitants and its more unusual visitors. A recent capture was a Turtle Dove - not particularly rare but, equally, not often caught in mist nets. Although we were aware that they used the Reserve on a regular basis this was positive proof that they were here.

One other advantage, which Foxglove Covert enjoys, is access to Catterick Training area. This is some 25,000 acres of mixed habitats where a range of species which do not feature within the Reserve itself. This allows ringers to handle species like Lapwing, Curlew and Snipe.

To see the different vertebrate species, please click on 'download species list' on the left.