E-e-e-e-e-e-k! On our evening walk around the yard tonight, I opened the birdfeeder to check the seed level. As I lifted the lid, two little beady black eyes were starring back at me. The two eyes were attached to a very little, really cute field mouse. Cute I thought after I squealed, dropped the lid and refused to raise it again. John peered inside and found a very scared mouse scurrying around on top of the seed. He looked really well fed!
With leather yard glove on hand, John reached in the feeder to grab the mouse. The mouse jumped around as John lurched from side to side trying to grab his tail. Standing back, I am not exactly sure what transpired but John jerked, the mouse high jumped out of his hand and hit the ground running.
We think it is curious that the mouse got in the seed. The birdfeeder sits on a pole and is of the squirrel proof variety. The little mouse may have snuck in the garage and crawled in the seed. He could have ended up in the feeder when I dumped the last of the seed bag on Sunday. On the other hand, he may have figured out how to jump in the tray like the squirrels. So much for squirrel (and mouse) proof feeders.