?Mouse ID please

[DanJeffery]

I am very much a beginner at all of this.

I photographed this little fella in the Lake District a week or two ago. I have been reading around and I suspect he is just a field mouse. But I would be grateful for the opinion of any of the many knowledgeable folk on this website.

I would like to think that it is a dormouse - his tail does look rather furry to me. But he doesn't look as orange as the pictures I have seen.

The pictures are rather blurry because he only came out at dusk and he was a fast mover - ISO 1600 and maximum aperture required.

Thank you

[Jason Green]

Welcome to WAB, Dan

I think it's a house/domestic mouse, Mus musculus.

There'll be other responses soon

[JonSadler]

It looks like a vole to me (bank/field), but I don't see rodents very often.....

Regards
Jon

[Hedge Witch]

I agree a vole, but I would say Bank Vole

[wildliferescuer]

I would agree that it's a vole.

[Hedge Witch]

Bank vole - reddish fur, clearly visible ears and short tail, but slightly longer than field vole. Not sure though - hard to see the tail.

[JonSadler]

wow you lot are fast! I was revising my opinion to a dunno between field and bank and whoosh....

J

[Jason Green]

Oh... not mouse. See, that's Dan's, fault giving me ideas of Mouse. Leading me astray like that...

Just joking. Was it a first sighting of a vole for you, Dan?

[DanJeffery]

Wow!

Thank you everyone for your help and your welcome.

It is certainly the first time I have knowingly seen a vole. It is rather exciting. (we saw a red squirrel on several occasions at that spot, with his/her tufty ears).

What is it that tells you this chap was a vole rather than a mouse?

[Jason Green]

Um... Jon Sadler, WildlifeRescuer and Hedge Witch

Probably a combination of fur colour and ear-length, as well as the general facial shape, I think

[Phoebe]

I agree it's a Vole but whether it's a Bank Vole or a Short-tailed Vole is uncertain. A mouse tends to have a sharper more point head.

[tigger]

Hi. We organised a small mammal trapping event in our village this year, if you have a look at my blog post the photos there may help you to ID your little fella!

See > A Misty Morning with Mice, Voles, Shrews & Moths at Corfe Mullen Meadow Reserve Urban Extension

Hope it helps

Jane

[Dogghound]

Its a juvenile field vole.

[tigger]

I think I agree. We didn't catch any Field Voles but I'm pretty sure it's not a bank vole. Not as dark as the one we caught/released.

Jane

[Adam Cheeseman]

Field Vole (short-tail, blunt nose, small ears),

Cheers,

Adam