Drinkers, hangovers and harvest mice

LewesWildlife
, 15 November 2015
Drinkers, hangovers and harvest mice


"Well I woke up Sunday morning,

With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt."

Kris Kristofferson


Over the years I have tried many hangover cures. Harvest mice have never been one of them.

But on Sunday morning, after a Saturday night party, I was persuaded to join members of the Sussex Mammal Group as they undertook a harvest mouse survey. "The fresh air would do you good", they said. And so I found myself ankle deep in a marsh at Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Woods Mill reserve. The dim November light burned into my retinas. The ‘chak-chak-chak’ alarm calls from a gang of fieldfares rattled loudly around my brain as they passed overhead. I should have stayed in bed.

The chances of seeing a harvest mouse are minimal. These are tiny, secretive, sensitive mammals which are mostly nocturnal. The sound of a hungover man crashing around in a marsh would send them scurrying long before I got close. This is why the best way to survey for their presence is to look for their abandoned summer nests . These woven balls of grass built high amongst the vegetation are a harvest mouse's summer home. From this base they will head out on acrobatic feeding missions, climbing through grasses, reeds and bramble, hardly ever touching the ground. Finding a small ball of dead grass amongst lots of dead grass isn't easy, but my hangover-induced hypersensitivity threw my environment into painfully sharp focus and I told myself that this was an essential superpower for the harvest mouse hunter.

While slowly scanning the undergrowth other strange creatures appeared. On a bramble leaf I found another home made of dead grass; the larval case of a psyche casta moth. There were caterpillars too, still active and fattening themselves up in this mild weather. Most of them were healthy looking drinkers. The irony wasn't lost on me.

Drinker moth caterpillar

Psyche casta larval case.



A nearby blackthorn hedge distracted me and I snuck off in search of the eggs of the brown hairstreak butterfly. The elusive adult butterfly is on the wing in August and the wind and rain that we enjoyed this August seems to have given these butterflies limited chances to meet, mate and egg lay as I have not found the usual abundance of eggs on our hedgerows. The fruit of the blackthorn, sloes, had flavoured the gin which I was blaming for this hangover. Looking for a little white dot when all you can see is white dots in front of your eyes wasn't easy but eventually I found an egg.

Brown hairstreak egg on blackthorn.

And then, while scanning a bank on the edge of a reedbed, my vision seemed to become even more blurry. I soon realised what I was looking at was a small area where the grass had been blurred and tangled into a round ball: a harvest mouse nest. The nest's location was noted and its details recorded. Shortly after another nest was found not too far away. Harvest mouse nests were once common in English wheat fields a century ago but changes in farming practice means that they, and their inhabitants, have disappeared from most of the English countryside.These amazing constructions provide a snug, warm place of safety for these mice.

By now my hangover felt worse than before. The harvest mouse survey hadn't really helped - but it had given me an idea. I headed home, curled up in a ball, wrapped the duvet around myself and went back to sleep.

Harvest mice could be found in field margins, brambly edges, reedbeds and hedgerows across Sussex. If you find any of these woven nests we'd be interested to hear about it.

Thanks to Ryan, Jess, Kim, Natalie and Clare. And thanks to Laurie for the sloe gin.


Leave a comment

Comments

  • Ginny:

    Great story Michael!

    16 Nov 2015 17:10:10

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783667085.85910 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783667085.88420.0251Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783667085.88440.0002Server address: 216.73.217.88
1783667085.88440Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783667085.88450Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/drinkers-hangovers-and-harvest-mice
    [s] => drinkers-hangovers-and-harvest-mice
    [1] => drinkers-hangovers-and-harvest-mice
)
1783667085.88480.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783667085.88580.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783667085.88780.002 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783667085.88840.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783667085.89010.0017 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22852854
1783667085.89060.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22852854
1783667085.89110.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-10 07:04:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-10 07:04:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783667085.89240.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='drinkers-hangovers-and-harvest-mice')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 07:04:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783667085.89470.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783667085.89530.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1017 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 07:04:00'
1783667085.89590.0007 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783667085.89640.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783667085.8970.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=33 LIMIT 1
1783667085.89740.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783667085.89760.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783667085.89830.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 07:04:00' AND postSlug='drinkers-hangovers-and-harvest-mice'
1783667085.91910.0208Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783667085.91970.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783667085.92150.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783667085.92180.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783667085.92280.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783667085.92550.0027 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783667085.92870.0033 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783667085.92940.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783667085.93170.0023Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783667085.93170 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783667085.93250.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783667085.9330.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783667085.93580.0029 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783667085.93690.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783667085.93760.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783667085.94020.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783667085.94120.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783667085.94340.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783667085.94380.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783667085.9440.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='3' LIMIT 1
1783667085.94470.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783667085.94510.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='drinkers-hangovers-and-harvest-mice')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 07:04:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783667085.94740.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783667085.94780.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783667085.95050.0027Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783667085.95120.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1017 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783667086.01180.0606 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783667086.01240.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783667086.01250.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='3' LIMIT 1
1783667086.01340.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783667086.0140.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783667086.01460.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783667086.01660.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783667086.01720.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783667086.01910.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783667086.020.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783667086.02070.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783667086.02130.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783667086.02360.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783667086.0240.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783667086.02590.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783667086.02960.0037 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783667086.03030.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783667086.03090.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783667086.03310.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783667086.03360.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783667086.03560.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783667086.03780.0021 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783667086.03860.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783667086.03910.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783667086.04110.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783667086.04160.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783667086.04340.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783667086.04470.0013Request time: 0.189
1783667086.04470Process time: 0.1888
1783667086.04470Memory: 1.6497