Careful management of the wildflower beds at our Sidmouth sanctuary in Devon is reaping benefits for some of our smallest mammals, as harvest mice and field voles have been spotted feeding on seeds among the plots.
Not only do the stunning summer flowers provide a nectar-rich environment for countless insects throughout the warmer months, but the resulting seeds also help feed our native birds and mammals.
Ecology and Conservation team member Pascal Bisson managed to capture some video of a harvest mouse – one of the UK’s most elusive rodents – while carefully mowing one of the wildflower plots at Trow Farm.
The harvest mouse was spotted heading into an area of longer grass, purposefully left uncut to provide wildlife with shelter, connectivity and grassy tussocks for nesting.
It is likely that the harvest mouse was foraging for seeds to help build up its energy supplies during this cold winter when access to food is unpredictable.
Harvest mice are classified on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list as ‘near threatened’ in most of Britain. Like many species, it faces threats due to habitat loss and fragmentation, often as a result of changes in agricultural practices.
Sarah Butcher, Devon Harvest Mouse Project Officer at the Devon Mammal Group, said: “It is really unusual to see a harvest mouse out in the wild; it’s one of the reasons the Devon Harvest Mouse Project focuses on finding nests.
“Harvest mice are elusive and either drop to the ground when spooked or run into cover incredibly fast. To film one mouse like this is amazing and shows how very rich the habitat must be. In days gone by such a sighting would not be that unusual, but now it is extra special.”
A few days after the plots had been mowed, the Ecology and Conservation team’s band of trusty volunteers raked the cuttings off the field so that seeds can successfully germinate next year.
Our resident donkeys also play their part in helping wildflowers bloom at the sanctuary. Walking through seeding meadows and species-rich grassland, they disperse the seeds and lightly trample them into the ground where the seeds can germinate the following year.
Sustainable land management is hugely important, not only for ensuring long-term habitats for the thriving populations of plants and animals, but also for the sense of wellbeing it gives people, and for providing our resident donkeys with an enriched environment and secure future.
