Hazel dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) monitoring

We have an assumption that  Hazel dormice could live on our site. Of course, we were a bit skeptical at the beginning, because the nearest finding was 40 kilometers north of us, and we have wet clay soils.  
Vadakste biodiversity forest is located in the middle of a 350 sq. km forest massif. Actually, the largest part of the old forest has been clear-cut in the last 20 years, and really old forest, with an age higher than 100 years, was left may be 100 hectares or even less. 

In the spring of 2025, we put 12 adapted birdhouses around the property, in different forest types. In December, we made a monitoring visit to the birdhouses. According to other people's observations, the dormice in December overwinter somewhere just under ground, but not in birdhouses.  Evidence of dormouse presence in the site is small grass bolls in the birdhouses.  
Inventorying birdhouses, we have found a wasp nest, some tit nests, and also some grass balls without really knowing who made them. We brought home the grass balls and then we got a surprise, there was a DORMOUSE inside of one ball. This was a celebration miracle and also a quick run back to the forest to put the animal back in the house.