Resident Wood Mouse

9 Sept

A wood mouse laps up water from a bird feeder next to an ornamental frog. It's bright pink tongue is visible, dipping into the water — **Wood Mouse** drinking from a bird bath

There are a couple of wood mice that have taken up residence in the garden. I can’t blame them really, there’s an endless supply of bird seed for them to eat. If they make sure the coast is clear and there isn’t anyone occupying it, they can quench their thirst by drinking the birds bath water. They even have a sturdy house to live in complete with portholes to look out of so they can have a good survey of the area, to ensure there aren’t any threats if they leave.

A wood mouse looks out of a hole in a terracotta pot to check it is save to leave — **Wood Mouse** checking it’s safe to leave the house

I first noticed them when I set a trail cam out on the patio and saw them scurrying around in the middle of the night. They’ve since started making appearances during the day, I’m guessing out of necessity. It’s rare for any of the seed to be left at the end of the day with the amount of birds that visit the garden for it. If there is any left over it’s not uncommon for one of the local foxes to finish it off so it isn’t very advisable for the mice to wait patiently for their turn as it’s normally slim pickings.