ENDANGERED dormice are thriving in a Stock wood according to the first countywide survey of the elusive creatures.
Nineteen dormice have been discovered at Swan Wood during a mouse hunt sparked by concerns over the population's decline across the UK.
Graham Hart, a volunteer with Essex Wildlife Trust, said: "We are extremely lucky to have dormice in Stock and I want to be sure they continue to thrive."
Mr Hart, who lives in Stock, is one of a group of dedicated volunteers with the Essex and Suffolk Dormouse Project.
After finding the dormice he contacted the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the wood is now included in the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme, a long-term project to collate data nationally.
Excited He said evidence of the nocturnal creatures first came to light after survey tubes were placed in Swan Wood, which were later replaced with boxes for long-term monitoring.
Mr Hart added: "We were very excited to discover a total of 19 dormice in the boxes this year, suggesting there is a good population in the wood."
The name dormice is derived from the French word dormir, 'to sleep', and they spend most of their lives up in the trees.
During the winter they hibernate on the ground, sheltering under leaves and roots.
Mr Hart said: "Unlike other mice, which produce cheap ed hardy many large broods that rarely live long, dormice generally have a single, small brood in the summer which can live for five years."
Unfortunately dormice populations have suffered a serious decline in the past 25 years.
Mr Hart said that owing to the decline, dormice are strictly protected by law and you need a special licence to disturb them.
"We have conducted surveys in other parts of the county with no success, so this is an important find for Essex.
"It was very exciting to find them, a bit like finding buried treasure, but better."
Tiffanys HeartHealthy countryside Dormice are good indicators of a healthy countryside, added Mr Hart: "Conservation of this species has a positive effect on other flora and fauna and can even encourage the return of traditional woodland skills like coppicing which is already happening at Swan Wood."
Contact Essex Wildlife Trust at for details.
FACT FILE: The dormouse Dormice are found mainly in southern counties as far north as Herefordshire. However, they are occasionally recorded in the north and Wales but not found in Scotland They live in deciduous woodland Dormice are only about 4in long - with their tail taking up half that length The average adult weighs about the same as two Pounds 1 coins (17g) and up to 40g just before hibernation They live for about five years in the wild or six years in captivity They eat flowers, pollen, fruit, nuts and insects The word dormouse comes from the French word 'dormir', which means to sleep Around 100 years ago, dormice were widespread and often kept as pets, but their numbers have dwindled significantly
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The newest Smart Way bus hummed along Interstate 81 from downtown Roanoke to Virginia Tech and back, a ceremonial journey for the Valley Metro commuter service on Thursday morning.
Fred Donaher, eager to chat with the dozen other passengers, sat four seats from the front, his seat cocked back and a green tote bag at his side.
Donaher, 32, is a bus aficionado; Thursday's ride was both a trial and a day of indulgence. Four new buses, including the one tested Thursday, will replace the 5-year-old buses currently in use on Jan. 4, the same day Valley Metro raises the fare to $4 from $3 on the Blacksburg-to-Roanoke route.
The bus upgrade has been long-awaited, contingent upon funding since Smart Way began service in 2004, said Carl Palmer, general manager of Greater Roanoke Transit, which operates Valley Metro. This investment is another step toward bringing the regions of Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Roanoke together and helping citizens cut costs and live "greener," he said.
wholesale sexy lingerie"You can't build yourself out of congestion, you can manage it," he added.
Donaher pulled the white frame of a miniature bus -- a replica of a South Bend, Ind., Transpo bus, small enough to hold in one hand - - from his tote bag, an on-the-road toolkit.
He painted pencil-thin black lines along the model bus' roof. He rides the Smart Way about once a month and uses the time to work on his models, which he sells online.
The current Smart Ways' bumpy drive challenges his steady hand, he said. He never made a model of those buses.
"That's not what I or real bus enthusiasts would classify as a bus," he said. The four older Smart Ways, blue with bike racks attached to the rear, look similar to school buses. They'll be sold at public auction or kept as Valley Metro backups, Palmer said
The new white buses replacing them look like charter buses, with steep steps into the elevated cabin, overhead luggage racks, TV monitors and upholstered bucket seats.
Donaher intends to make a model of the new Smart Way, manufactured by Motor Coach Industries, confirmation that the new Smart Ways are "real" enough for bus enthusiasts.
And with price tags of $490,000 each, or about $2 million total, they had better be.
The new buses will seat 57 passengers, allowing 25 more people per ride than the older buses. Eventually, seats will have cup holders and access to electrical outlets, Palmer said.
Jim Grigsby, assistant city manager in Roanoke, predicted the additional space will fill up quickly.
Smart Way has increased ridership by 6.2 percent since July, with about 5,000 people riding each month. Some of these hourlong rides fill to capacity with businesspeople, shoppers and students.
"Once you leave Short Pump, the folks in Richmond don't think of us out here," said Bev Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Smart Way Advisory Committee. "When we work together out here, they take note."
He spoke to a small crowd in the Virginia Museum of Transportation parking lot with the bus as a backdrop. Fitzpatrick and Valley Metro, Virginia Tech and local officials repeated the conference on Virginia Tech's Drillfield Drive after riding the bus there.
Roanoke, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Montgomery County and Virginia Tech contributed about 10 percent of capital
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The smallest happenings can strike a magic chord, and then there leaps into life some joyous thing to startle and delight.
Thus it was for us in a February some 35 fleeting years ago.
Cheap Flattie/replica portable shoesMy mother had sent us a St. Patrick's Day card; that's how it began. "The Replica Zodiac Watches Legend of the Leprechaun," charmingly presented. My husband suggested, "Why don't we have the Little People come to our house -- the Scottish ones, of course."
Cheap ARMANIRead the full column on MormonTimes.com.
NEW DELHI: Finding the plastic industry association's challenge to a Delhi government notification banning use of polybags in market places to be a little out of sync with the present eco-friendly cry, the Supreme lingerie wholesale Court on Friday advised Delhiites to carry bags from home to markets and malls.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices V S Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma expressed disagreement with senior advocate K K Venugopal's submission that the ban was violative of the industry's right to carry on business.
Venugopal assailed the Delhi High Court order directing the Delhi government to consider banning plastic bags in the national capital and said can a court direct a governemnt to legislate?
replica tag heruer watchesHe said that paper and jute bags were quite costly and out of reach of the common man, who has been put to a lot of inconvenience by the ban on easy-to-carry and cheap plastic bags.
The Bench said: "Did you consider the hazardous effect of the largescale use of plastic bags to environment? It can play havoc." However, it agreed to consider the plea of All India Plastic Industries Association and posted the matter for detailed hearing in the month of April.
But before deferring hearing on the plea, Justice Verma had an advise for Delhiites: "Let everyone carry a bag to the market place like the good old times. I carry one everytime I go to the market."
Acting on a PIL filed by V K Jain and following certain directions from the Delhi HC, the Sheila Dikshit government had on January 7 last year issued a notification banning use of plastic bags in all market complexes and malls in the national capital. The HC had on July 15 last year dismissed the plastic industry association's petition replica breitling watches challenging the ban.
For Reprint Rights: timescontent.com
WELCOME to Lincolnshire's natural coast - the sands that offer miles of beach and plenty of space for all.
replica breitling watchesFor over a century the Lincolnshire seaside has given people unforgettable holidays.
Along 50 miles of coastline there are epic, endless beaches, superb swimming spots - good old-fashioned fun for all the family.
This area's beaches were among the first to be given the Quality Coast Award and they have attained Blue Flag status.
Wherever you go you know it's safe to build sandcastles, run about and have a splash. It's the stuff of which childhood memories are made.
Outdoor visit more com The Lincolnshire coast caters for all tastes but many think its best bits are its charm, its nature, and the fun to be had.
replica tag heruer watches There's the gentle joy of donkey rides, seal sanctuaries or a trip on the sand train.
For a bit more excitement, the many amusement arcades of Splash Waterworld at Butlins, Skegness, will keep you entertained in all weathers. And for real thrill-seekers there's surfing, land- yachting and motorcycle sand-racing, water and extreme sports galore.
If you like taking things at an easier pace, there is charm in spades.
Head for Skegness Pier and the Embassy Theatre or its Tower Gardens, and don't miss the August carnival. Mablethorpe has its own celebration of beach life with the Bathing Beauties festival every September in celebration of the beach hut.
Cleethorpes is the perfect place for a stroll, with its promenade and award-winning floral displays.
It's not wholesale sexy lingerie just people who flock to the Lincolnshire coast either.
The remoter spots attract nature such as seals and hundreds of migratory and wading birds, and at Gibraltar Point you can get closer to all sorts of rare flora and fauna.
How you experience this coast is up to you. The one thing for sure is that you won't forget it.
I have been increasingly appalled at the amount of litter I see thrown everywhere.
I was walking out to Sumner and called in at the Redcliffs New World to get a couple links of london charms of plastic bags to pick up rubbish I saw on the beach. I managed to fill about three bags in a short space.
I found lots of plastic bags half buried in the sand, and on lifting them I saw they were doggie-doos bags. That day I picked up about 20.
I find it hard to believe that people will pick up their dog poo simply to bury it in the sand.
replica tag heruer watchesWhen I walked back along the road I found lots of similar bags thrown into the wholesale sexy lingerie bushes.
We need to get tough and campaign to stop this needless littering.
E TANNER
Mt Pleasant