As I sat down to a bit of lunch having been enhancing my 'six'-pack (more like a one-pack) with some hearty leaf raking, a movement in my flower border attracted my attention.
Realising that it was mammalian, I engaged my primeval capacity for stalking armed with the ultimate 21st century weapon - the digital camera. And here is what I 'caught' (left).
Now, before I go any further, I readily admit that I am no small mammal expert, my ID skills ranking somewhere just above my ability to recognise contestants on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
But based on what I know (and I'm open to challenge here), this is either a Wood Mouse (sometimes called the Long-tailed Field Mouse) or Yellow-necked Field Mouse. I'm basing that on the gingery colour; that large eye indicating a creature that really should only be abroad by night; those large ears; that rather gerbil-like stance; and most importantly the clear indication you can see in the photo that the underparts are pure white including the chin, with a neat dividing line between the upper and underparts.
Shame I never got a glimpse from in front to confirm whether it had the tell-tale yellowy collar of the Yellow-necked. Either way, it is a new record for my garden.
Whichever it was, it's nice to know that this mouse, which in both species are mainly found in woodlands, is surviving in an area of suburban gardens that is patrolled by probably a dozen cats or more. Unlike House Mice, they are unlikely to enter a centrally-heated house which is reassuring, as they are more interested in eating and gathering seeds ready for the winter.
Come the cold season, a huge proportion of them will die, unable to find enough food to cope with the cold. Hopefully my developing woodland garden and the areas of woodpiles and dense cover I'm still creating are playing their part in giving them a chance of surviving here. And maybe the bit of spillage from my bird feeders is playing its part too!
If you want to drop by my RSPB wildlife gardening blog, it is updated every Friday, and I'd love to see you there - www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hfw
I enjoyed seeing your little mouse and thought I would tell you that earlier this year when I was feeding a badger every night I saw an astonishing thing - I could hardly believe it. I always opened my side gate at 9pm to let my Brockie in and he lumbered up a couple of steps and set to with the peanut butter sandwiches, loose peanuts and of course his drink. One morning I was in the kitchen and saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked at Brockies dishes and saw two little legs with claws on the ends sticking up in the air and the tail was straight up (acting as a balance I think!) . It was so funny, an acrobatic mouse with his head in the dish. He sort of somersaulted out with a peanut and went into the ivy and I wasted a VERY long time watching him until he had taken every single peanut that Brockie had left behind! I hope you won't all think I'm silly! Carol, Paignton.
Interestingly, SuzyS, mice tails of all our species are usually about equal to their head/body length, whereas Rat tails are usually quite a bit shorter. Hope your little trees are coping in this icy blast.
If I had seen the "mouse" I would have initially thought it was a young rat because of it's long tail. How long can mice tails be?
(PS Harsh winters ARE becoming a worry in mid Cornwall, especially to me as I have a bonzai/penjin collection.)
Here's to wildlife being appreciated by the masses.
Hi Jef. Unless anyone knows differently, I have no evidence to say that Brown Rats and the various species of mice can't co-exist - indeed there are plenty of places where they are known to. Hope they come back for you.
Given another harsh winter, Wildlife Friendly, you may need those twenty to see you through to next year! But then being in Devon perhaps harsh winters are the least of your worries. To have no self-seeding does seem a missed joy, but then that's the give and take wildlife brings, eh?!