A tiny harvest mouse has been captured enjoying the spring bloom in an adorable scene.
The little creature balances on a flower stalk as it reaches up, paws out, in attempts to sniff the fresh bluebells.
The mouse, measuring around one inch long, can be seen using its tail to keep itself balanced while it takes in the smells of the fresh flower.
The creature, which weighs as much as a 2p coin, proceeds to balance on the drooped over bluebell.
The harvest mouse, with its chestnut fur, is Britain’s smallest rodent. It has a prehensile tail, used like a fifth limb to grasp grass stems while climbing through, or on to, plants.
Their favoured habitat is grasslands, reedbeds and hedgerows. They build their nests within the vegetation, as they strive to make woven balls using strands of reeds and grasses.
The minute mammal is on the Red List for Britain’s mammals, meaning they are at risk of becoming threatened with extinction in the future.
The numbers of harvest mice in the UK is unknown, but there are now fewer of them due to the change of farming practices, which has led to their natural homes disappearing.
The little creature balances on a flower stalk as it reaches up, paws out, in attempts to sniff the fresh bluebells
The creature, which weighs as much as a 2p coin, proceeds to balance on the drooped over bluebell
The harvest mouse, with its chestnut fur, is Britain’s smallest rodent. It has a prehensile tail, used like a fifth limb to grasp grass stems while climbing through, or on to, plants
Meanwhile Britain’s bluebells have bloomed unusually early this year, creating a habitat for mouse acrobatics, driven by a wetter spring and mild conditions.
Ample rainfall, combined with a warm start to the season, has created ideal growing conditions for the wildflowers.
Temperature records have been broken, with the hottest day since 1946 recorded in the first half of April, reaching 26.6C on April 8 at Kew Gardens, London.
Across southern England, residents have reported bluebells sprouting in their gardens up to two weeks earlier than usual – helped by a lack of frosty mornings.
Research from the University of Cambridge suggests many plants are now flowering up to a month earlier, raising concerns for wildlife and the ecosystem – as well as for farmers and gardeners.
This comes as rising temperatures shift the natural plant cycles. This can leave species that sync up their migration or hibernation without flowers – known as ecological mismatch.
Scientists warn that spring temperatures are rising faster in all four nations of the UK than in other seasons, with averages increasing by 1.8C since 1970.
