Wood Mouse in my garden.................................... cleaning up after the birds

I was trying to capture my garden Song Thrush a few nights ago when I spotted the Wood mouse that lives under my garden shed searching for scraps of food below the bird feeders.

I managed to stay still for quite a while and he came within a few feet of me of me.

He seemed very calm as he looked for food ... but was off in a flash at my slightest movement.

Luckily for me the noise of the camera shutter didn't appear to bother him... just as it hadn't a week ago.

Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus).

I have already mentioned this is not the mouse that enters houses and causes damage.

It is Britain's most common and widespread mouse.

A very energenic animal it is usually only active at night.... but not in my garden.

The Wood Mouse does not hibernate but can go into a similar inactive (torpid) state in order to conserve energy.  They live in burrows underground (mine live under my garden shed) ... I enjoy watching them foraging under my bird feeders.

 They really are quite cute... I took this last image a few years ago...the last time I saw more than one.

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.