On Tuesday we had a first for the reserve in the form of a Eurasian harvest mouse. It was spotted behind the east hide by a keen eyed visitor. These cute little rodents are generally found in fields of cereal crops and in reed beds, hedgerows and other tall vegetation. They are the smallest European rodent weighing as little as 4 grams! Their feet are quite large and are adapted for climbing with a large outermost toe allowing it to grip stems with its hind feet while freeing it’s forepaws for food collection.
Harvest mouse (top) - Chris Barber, Harvest mouse nest (bottom) - Lukasz Lukomski
They build spherical nests which are made of tightly woven grass. The loss of hedgerows, field margins and grassland has meant that harvest mice are one of the species we are most worried about and so it’s great to see them on the reserve.