Monday, January 07, 2008

You know when you've seen it all? I thought I had. Till yesterday, I thought that I had stemmed our rodent invasion in the en-suite. If you remember a few weeks ago I caught an influx of Wood Mice totalling 7 of the darlings. As you would expect of a true naturalist they were live trapped and released in more suitable habitat ie not our back shower room.

Then it happened. Yesterday I heard a scuffle in 'the room'. I checked. Nothing. The trap has been set continuously now since the invasion. Then a short while later Jane emerged from said room holding the trap containing a visitor. Oh no no, not a Wood Mouse. A Field Vole. How many of you have had them in your house, not many I'll bet. They live in open grassy areas to be fodder for our raptors and owls, not in houses. It was released unharmed.

Then tonight, same again, another one. Where do they come from for goodness sake. Is it any wonder there are no Short eared Owls in the county at the minute. Their food is living in our house! I hope I come in tomorrow to find a Great Grey Shrike on the Shower rail...

4 comments:

ST said...

Your hamster turned up in my garden.
Would you like him back?

Field vole! That's very unusual. At this rate you'll have a clean sweep by september.
Water vole might be tricky though.

Stewart said...

Well it is the shower room....

Ipin said...

Good start for the 2008 shower room mammal list! I'll be out'n'about on your patch tomorow, with lunch at the FBI, I think it may be a tad windy, but it might blow something in!

Alastair said...

Field Vole is pretty common in our house - usually one every couple of weeks (alive that is, dead rather more frequently). More unusual has been .... Mole. Mole has been sighted in the living room on two occasions now - usually associated with a lot of giggling and the girls shouting "Daaaaadd!" They (the mole not the girls) tend to scuttle around the edge of the room and try and dig the carpet up until caught and reunited with the great outdoors.

We do have cats - a necessary evil as locally there is a bit of a rat problem which the cats control fairly effectively. The cats seem unable to kill Mole, thankfully. Unfortunately I don't manage to rescue all the voles.