Harvest mouse found at Bickley Hall Farm

One weekend in October we held a small mammal trapping event at Bickley Hall Farm, CWT’s headquarters, for the Watch group. The traps had been laid along a hedge at the front of the farm. The hedge is separated from the field by a fence, so the hedge margin is un-grazed, and supports dense long grasses. The field itself has been sown with kale, as a winter forage crop for livestock. Growing among the kale are many wildflowers, mostly mayweeds. The site had been chosen as we hoped to catch a variety of different species to show to the Watch group members.

The day started well, catching common shrew, bank voles and field voles, to the delight of our younger members. Then a harvest mouse tumbled out of the next trap! This was very exciting, as there are few harvest mouse records in Cheshire, and most of the existing records are for nests rather than the animal itself. Harvest mice spend much of their time climbing among long grasses, so they are rarely caught in Longworth traps.

This is the first record of harvest mice at Bickley Hall Farm, and very welcome, as it can be taken as an indication that the management practices we are using on the farm are indeed beneficial to wildlife.