Harvest mice return to Breary Marsh in Leeds after 50 years

The harvest mouse – Europe’s smallest rodent – has returned to a city’s marshlands after 50 years.

The tiny mice, which weigh less than a 50p coin, have been found at Breary Marsh in Leeds for the first time since 1975.

David L Preston, countryside ranger at Leeds City Council, said it was “fantastic” to see the mice back in Breary Marsh.

He said: “It shows that all the work we’ve been doing in changing our practices has worked wonders for the natural habitat.”

According to the Mammal Society, the species was once widespread across the UK but has seen rapid declines in many areas due to changing farming practices, resulting in a loss of natural habitat.

The team at Breary Marsh believe the mice have returned because of a change to the way staff care for the land.

They have begun using traditional scything instead of mowing, and leaving areas of wildflower meadow, verges and wetlands uncut.

According to the Wildlife Trust, harvest mice live in long, tussocky grassland, reed beds, hedgerows and around woodland edges.

They struggle to live in thin or short grass, as the stems are too weak to support their spherical nests which they create from tightly woven grass, elevated from the ground in tall grasses.

A monitoring programme has now been set up with Yorkshire Mammal Group to understand the spread of the mouse population on the site.

Breary Marsh is a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest, which borders Golden Acre Park in north Leeds.