News
First year mouse success
2nd January 2010
“Pellets gathered from just under half of these sites were found to contain harvest mice remains. These were identified from their tiny skull, jaw bones and teeth. This is a great result and shows that while harvest mice may not be as common as they once were, they are still fairly widespread throughout Suffolk. Plans are underway to visit every positive site this winter to search for nests.”
Pellet analysis training for volunteers has been taking part throughout the year and so far five training days have involved 78 people. To date a whopping 2000 pellets have been analysed!
Positive results of harvest mice in pellets leads to a site visit, which are underway over this autumn and winter. So far 11 sites have been visited and harvest mice nests have been discovered at nine of these sites. All nests were found within 0.25km of the site the pellets were collected from.
“Site visits will lead to a really good understanding of harvest mice habitat requirements. This means Suffolk WildlifeTrust will be able to give targeted advice on managing habitat for harvest mice, hopefully allowing them to spread into new areas in the future and build up really good populations at existing sites. As part of its representation of the new Campaign for the Farmed Environment"
Notes to editors
The harvest mouse (micromys minitus) has suffered a 70% decline in numbers since 1970s due to land use changes and habitat loss, and is listed as a UK Biodiversity Action Plan species. It is the UK’s smallest rodent weighing about the same as a 20p! Harvest mice build characteristic woven nests up to a metre above ground level which are most visible in autumn when they stand out as withered grassy balls. The mice are found in a wide range of habitats including long grass, cereal crops, hedgerows, bramble patches and reedbeds.
