With help from Natural England, Norfolk farmer and broadcaster Chris Skinner was delighted and surprised to find harvest mice, Britain’s smallest mammal, back in his fields at High Ash Farm.
The tiny rodents have been encouraged back to the land by Chris’ environmental management of the farm at Caistor St Edmund (two miles south of Norwich), on which he was born and brought up.
Chris is an active supporter of Natural England’s environmental land management programmes and since 2006 High Ash Farm has been involved in HLS (Higher Level Stewardship). This involves working with Natural England on a whole range of objectives.
Emily Swan, Natural England’s Land Management and Conservation Adviser for Norfolk said: "There is no doubt that Chris’ enthusiasm and attention to detail with his Higher Level Scheme has produced some very positive results with benefits across the scheme’s objectives and in particular those helping our wildlife."
As part of this Chris introduced grass margins to his fields. These are six metre, uncultivated strips of land around arable fields, and it’s here that the harvest mice have taken up residence.
"I was walking the fields and found some breeding nests," said Chris. "I got really excited because I’ve not seen harvest mice on the farm since I was a child."
They’ve been encouraged back by the conservation grass mix that Chris grows. This provides perfect nesting material for them to weave their classic tennis ball nests in stems high above the ground. They also build smaller, non-breeding nests closer to the ground or in buildings.
They start nesting in July with about six babies to a litter, and already Chris has counted five nests and seen some of the distinctive red-coated adults.
"They are quite discreet little creatures and difficult to see in the summer months and it’s lovely to see them back at the farm."
Harvest mice are the smallest British rodent and the only Old World mammals to have prehensile tails which grip and help with climbing.
Following Natural England’s programme to encourage farmers to look after the countryside more, Chris has taken on the challenge wholeheartedly and put most of his land into crops that encourage and benefit wildlife.
Two years ago Chris opened five km of footpaths on his farm to the public in what is now his lifelong ambition to welcome people who are responsible and enjoy the environment to his own special part of the Norfolk countryside.
