Whose “des res” is this?

We’d love to identify the creature that did this!

Location picture of the nest box in situ amongst ivy — We’ve had a couple of possibilities (see comment below). This may not be just a nest – more a serving suggestion! (Click to enlarge)

Can you help us to discover what creature is responsible for snipping fresh ivy leaves and carrying them into this bird nesting box?

A robin used the bird box for its nest in the spring and I looked at it a few days ago with the intention of cleaning it out, but I noticed a few freshly snipped ivy leaves lying over the top of the nest.

They had all been collected with a remarkably consistent length of stem attached to each leaf.

Ivy leaves which have been collected and stored inside a wooden nesting box. — You can’t see the ivy leaves from the ground, but I managed to take this picture by holding the camera above my head. (Click to enlarge).

When I took the photograph for the blog today, quite a few more leaves had been added, so I suspect the responsible creature is probably quite large – possibly a mouse. I noticed that in this particular nest box, no other leaves are involved – only ivy.

If you can help us to identify the creature involved, please let us know – preferably by leaving a comment below – or by using the contact form. Of course, we’ll gladly answer questions if it will clarify the matter for you.

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September 12, 2014

Andy

One response to “Whose “des res” is this?”

Gill
15 September 2014
So far we’ve had two ideas about our small visitor – wood mouse or, more excitingly, edible dormouse. It’s still known as the edible dormouse, even though it’s illegal to eat one now (not that I was tempted, if life’s too short to stuff a mushroom, it’s definitely too short to fillet a dormouse). The photos we’ve seen of other nests show a very strong resemblance to our own, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
The edible dormouse looks rather like a squirrel. The neighbour’s cats have recently started to hang around the tree that houses the nesting box (it’s outside our garden fence so we can’t really defend it) so if the inhabitant should fall victim to a cat I hope the cat leaves the tail behind.
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Whose “des res” is this?

We’d love to identify the creature that did this!

BORDER COLLIE SHEEPDOGS & FRIENDS – STILL OFF DUTY! (DVD)

One response to “Whose “des res” is this?”

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