To a mouse

THE hunt is on for wee harvest mice at the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve near Langholm.

A final search session will take place on Wednesday, with a warm welcome to anyone that wants to get involved.

A Tarras spokesperson said: “We have recently discovered what we think are harvest mice on Tarras Valley when we found some little woven grass nests during a volunteer session, which is very exciting!

“They are a species which is critical in Scotland, so we are hoping that we do indeed host a population of the UK’s smallest rodent.”

According to the Mammal Society, the little mice weigh in at only 4-6 grams, they create ball-shaped nests woven from grass to sleep and breed in and they enjoy eating a variety of seeds, berries, and insects.

The reserve has carried out three volunteer harvest mice surveys so far this month, to investigate further and try to officially confirm their presence. And the final session will be on Wednesday from 10 am to 12 noon, meeting at Laverock bird hide. All guidance for doing the survey will be given on the day and done in groups.