THE harvest mouse, the smallest rodent in the country, has returned to Selborne where it was first identified in 1767 by naturalist Gilbert White.

Some 30 years ago the fate of the harvest mouse was looking bleak, but thanks to the combined effort over recent years of landowners and conservationists more than 150 nests were again recorded in the village.

It was in Selborne in October 1767 that Gilbert White, writing to fellow naturalist Thomas Pennant, explained how the mice he had been examining were an entirely different species which we would today identify as harvest mice.

White goes on in the letter, which can be seen in his famous work The Natural History of Selborne, published in 1789, to explain how the colouring and size of the mouse along with its behaviour sets it apart from other species.

He was the first to record the mouse in such vivid detail.

On January 22 of the following year, White once again wrote a letter to discuss the “small mice”, as he refers to them, describing their activity during the winter months, their hibernation routine, and their weight and size in comparison to other mice species.

In the time since White’s observations, harvest mice have suffered mainly due to changes in habitat management and agricultural methods. Attempts have been made over the years to boost numbers in the countryside surrounding Selborne, where they were first identified.

In 1998, a nest of the small rodents was found by garden volunteer Laurie Woods after a long absence at Gilbert White’s former home and, in 2011, staff from the museum made an attempt to reintroduce the mice once more, with some success. This included creating habitats such as long-straw wheat, which was grown within the 30 acres of garden and parkland at the museum in the hope that mice would once again prosper. But it is thanks to a “farmer cluster” that the harvest mouse has seen an amazing resurgence, with a recent survey providing conclusive proof of more than 150 harvest mouse nests.

By establishing and maintaining tussocky and seed-rich grass headlands around arable fields and planting, gapping up and laying hedges, the Selborne Landscape Partnership has created a connected habitat for small mammals such as harvest mice – an initiative that has also benefitted birds, such as barn owls, and insects.

The group, which is lead by farmers and also includes the South Downs National Park, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Hampshire Wildlife Trust, the National Trust and Gilbert White’s House, plans to roll out further conservation schemes across more than 4,000 hectares of land over the next five years to allow wildlife to continue to flourish on Gilbert White’s hallowed turf.

Museum director Steve Green said: “We are delighted with the results of the latest harvest mice survey. It’s wonderful to see Gilbert White’s legacy living on in Selborne.”