Garden activity ID help please

[Ian & Dianne Barnett]

Had fun watching the icicles melt and birds flood the garden for food.

Usual garden birds, blue tits, great tits, sparrows, dunnocks, wood-pigeon, collared dove, goldfinch and 4 blackbirds, 4 robins... and highlight of the year...pr of siskins, first for our garden!

Also small rodents... house mouse I think.... though someone has said it looks like a small brown rat!! Can anyone add anything in terms of ID

[Dave]

Awe he looks cute nice shot

[andy leach]

YES that looks very much like a young brown rat going off the snout and the scaly looking tail and no its not CUTE its a disease carrying expert that can hospitilise you if your not carefull with leptospirol jaundice (rat catchers yellows) take care round the area where you have seen the rat and if you come into contact with droppings or areas were its urinated make sure you wash your hands throughly as lepto is very unpleasant speaking from experience

[Ian & Dianne Barnett]

Thanks for this Andy. This was right in front of the patio window!! Also one at the bottom of garden. I suspect the very cold weather brought them out but I suspect they are around at night. What do we do about discouraging them?

Should we call the council?

Really concerned about health and safety. Neighbours have kids.

[gary lilley]

It looks like a house mouse to me .

[Brian Derbyshire]

ID not easy given no good indication of size but looks small to me, but size of ears, very fine whiskers and 'pop-eyed' appearance make it a House Mouse, but surprisingly they are not common around my area, our random mammal survey operatives (cats!) very rarely catch House Mice, Wood Mice much more common as, unfortunately, are rats, incidentally our "rmso"s bring us 'gifts' of everything from rabbits and squirrels to voles and moles!

[andy leach]

hi guys in respect of your rodent problem gary and brian think its a hoose moose im still sticking to my id of rattus no matter whos right or wrong if you contact the council they will send out a pest control officer and he should be able to id the rodent from droppings left better to be safe than sorry they would then put poision down to kill the culprits just to warn you cause not everybody is happy with that idea

[Ian & Dianne Barnett]

Thanks everyone for your help. I put the pic up on ISPOT (have you all seen that site?) Got a very positive response to it being a rat also.

Caution is the better part of valour I think.

Thanks for the advice Andy. Will act on that.