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When to look
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Harvest mouse
Good to know
Six things about the harvest mouse
WeightAs light as a 2p coin
An adult harvest mouse weighs about 6 grams, which is less than a 2p coin.
TailA fifth hand
It is the only British mammal with a tail that can grip. It wraps it round grass stems as it climbs.
NestA ball of grass
It weaves a nest the size of a tennis ball out of living grass leaves, well above the ground.
ClimbingLife in the stalks
A harvest mouse spends much of the summer climbing among grass stems rather than on the ground.
WinterDown for the winter
In winter it moves down to ground level and into hedge bottoms, grass tussocks and barns.
SignsLook for the nests
The mice are very hard to spot. Finding their old nests in winter is the usual way to know they are there.
The real thing
Photos of the harvest mouse
Out and aboutHow to spot one
The mice are very hard to see. In winter, search tall grass, reeds and bramble edges for a woven ball of grass about the size of a tennis ball.
Lend a handHow to help
Leave field edges, ditches and reed beds uncut, and cut hedges only every two or three years.
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