Well the Field Mouse count stands at 17 right now.

The remover of the dead ones showed up quickly this morning. I arranged the Field Mouse on the path, and watched while I had my hands in the sink doing yet more washing up. I don't rally mind washing up Radio 4 in one ear the garden and wild life to watch, well there are worse things.

He appeared on the fence, a Magpie, he hopped down to the path and took the Mouse in his beak. With that he hopped down the garden and across to the row of Parsnips. I expected him to tuck in on the path or take the meal away for eating. No, with just two head actions he hid the body under the Parsnip leaves and flew off.

Typical Magpie behaviour, storing things away. Next he headed for my compost heap and made a check there, initially I was putting the Mice onto the heap, after a while they started to disappear, the boy has a memory but then he needs one to remember where he hides his supper.