The recent hot weather has caused the reserve's dormice to wake up a bit earlier than usual. They are normally still fast asleep when we check our nestboxes in the morning, but this year quite a few have been very lively. That means our expertise at handling dormice so that we can weigh and sex them and check on their breeding condition is really tested. Photographing an active dormouse is difficult but there are still a few curled up and in deep sleep as you'll see from this photo