6.
the ceilings. The garden and front hedge
hold Long Tailed Mice, Bank Voles and the
Short Tailed Field Vole sometimes occurs in a
a grassy uncultivated area. We have had
Pigmy and Common Shrews in the garden
although not this year. The Water Shrews
which used to live in our ditch have gone as
field drainage has lowered the ditch water
level. Rabbits and Brown Hares are common
outside the garden but moles are not as
this is a mainly arable situation.
A small wood along the road now houses
Grey Squirrels which were not there ten
years ago and Red Foxes are now very common.
They have cleared all the local ponds of
ducks and we are now shutting up our
chickens at night again as a precaution.
Hedgehogs are not common here and there are
no Badgers. One large field nearby is
called Brooklands but the sett at the far
end of it was gassed in 1967 and has never
been re-occupied. Harvest Mice are some-
times found in the area by local cats and
I have seen their nests in rank grassland
corners and on road verges. I must not
forget Stoats and Weasels which are both
common here. One Stoat was seen three years
ago dancing in the middle of the front lawn
trying to attract our tame white pigeons
down onto the ground. The only mammals I
have never seen here are the Dormouse and
Deer but who knows what 1978 will bring!
The area is also rich in Bird life
because it is a very varied habitat and
includes a large reservoir stocked with
trout. This water was visited by a passing
Osprey five years ago causing some alarm to
the fishermen stationed around the lake!
Amphibians and Reptiles are rather lacking