Thursday 17 February 2011

Wood Mice in my garden.............nice to see them

Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)


I often see Wood Mice in my garden and they are a beautiful little animal to see.
It is Britain's most common and widespread mouse.
A very energenic animal it is usually only active at night. For the last few months I have not seen one in my garden and I thought the very severe winter we have had may have caught them out.
The Wood Mouse does not hibernate but can go into a similar inactive (torpid) state in order to conserve energy. This morning as I was getting ready for work I glimpsed movement under the bird feeders. My little garden rodent had survived the winter. Wood Mice live in burrows underground (mine live under my garden shed) and I enjoy watching them foraging under my bird feeders.

A Note:
The problem mouse in the UK is the House Mouse (Mus musculus).
It is a species that arrived from Asia and is classified as a pest.
This is the mouse that causes damage to property by gnawing cables, skirting boards and ruining food supplies with droppings and urine. It can also carry disease and parasites.

8 comments:

Dave said...

He reminds me of the little guy that visits our basement and steals cat food.
Lucky for him our cat isn't the brightest bulb and just likes to lick him clean.

grammie g said...

Hi Andrew ...oooh they are so cute!! I love there ear's
I just wish they didn't get in my house and leave poop's in my kitchen draws...: }}
They do like cat food to ; } like Dave said!! lol

Unknown said...

Great images of mice. They are definitely adorable. Thanks for your kind words on my blog!

Hilke Breder said...

I agree they look cute, particularly outside in a natural surrounding. I have caught a few in my house - yes, they hide in kitchen drawers like Grammie says. They are certainly much more appealing than the common gray house mouse.

Unknown said...

Good close ups Andrew. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Cute little guys, Andrew. In the past we have had some of their relatives come into our kitchen through the ductwork and sadly they did not survive to tell others; glad yours are outside and hope they stay there - best place for survival.

ShySongbird said...

So sweet! Lovely photos of them Andrew, I particularly like the first one.

I have a mouse visit a small mesh feeder which I pushed into a Clematis to attract the smaller birds, it was some time before I realised I was feeding a Yellow-necked Mouse!

Unknown said...

They are so cute! Lovely visitors.