What was that? A tiny flash of russet, nearly under my feet, just vanished into the long grass. Far too small for a stoat or weasel. Surely too auburn for a mouse. What then? “A harvest mouse,” Dad confidently tells me when I phone. “Have a look in the undergrowth for nests.” I glance in the straggly grass, but it’s time to leave for the school pick-up.
Once home, I find out it’s the ideal time of year to survey harvest mice. The data is vital as Micromys minutus is on the red list for Britain’s mammals, and the last widespread study was in 2013-14, so the Mammal Society has recently launched a new national survey.
