News

Yesterday we undertook the first ever harvest mouse nest survey on campus!

Harvest mice populations are most likely grossly underreported as Britain's tiniest rodent, weighing no more than a 2p coin, are notoriously difficult to spot. They hardly ever enter small mammal traps or trigger wildlife trail cameras, so it is rare to see them in the wild. Thus, the best way to survey for this species is by looking for their nests. This is a non-invasive method as the surveys are carried out during the months when the nests are vacant, hereby reducing the disturbance to the animals.

The harvest mouse is the only British mammal with a prehensile tail, which it uses as a 5th limb to hold on to grass stems in its favoured habitat with dense, tall grasses. It creates nests above ground among the vegetation by weaving living leaves of grass and other plants into a tennis ball sized, round structure.

However, looking for a small nest made of grass among tall grass is no easy task, and results in a methodology that is hugely labour intensive, further hindering survey efforts.

On Sunday 12^th October, a group of intrepid student and staff volunteers tackled thick fog, brambles and thistles to put their newly acquired knowledge on harvest mouse nest surveying into practice under the guidance of Tanya Carey from Warwickshire Mammal Group.

Slowly and methodically combing the vegetation of a large unmanaged field, the group discovered 10 nests, hereby producing the first official survey record for this elusive species on campus.

The eagle-eyed surveyors also found 2 owl pellets, which not only show the presence of these fascinating and important birds of prey on site but, through further analysis, could yield additional information about the biodiversity of the area and the diet of these predators.

We are grateful to all who volunteered their time to help us undertake this survey and reach this important milestone!