York photographer captures adorable spring harvest mouse

The tiny mammal, which weighs as much as a 2p coin, can be seen using its prehensile tail to keep itself balanced while it stretches to touch the petals.

Photographer Tony Nellis captured the amazing moment at a wildlife conservation workshop in York at the weekend.

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Pictures show the cute rodent scrambling up a bluebell stem to catch the flower’s pleasant scent.

Another shot shows the animal balancing perfectly while looking directly down the camera.

Ready for take off (Image: Tony Nellis)

Harvest mice are known pollen lovers and are often spotted snacking – or even napping – inside flowers.

Tony, 26, said: “The one in the photo was a really young female. I wanted the blue bells as they really love pollen, like bees.

“They will climb up a flower to eat the pollen. If the flower is big enough they’ll try and sleep in the flowers.

“She sort of reached up to have a good grab of it and had a sniff of the flower. It must’ve had a nice scent as she went back for more.

“They use their tail like an extra limb.

“If they’re climbing something they wrap their tail around it help the climb. It’s amazing to watch.

‘They will climb up a flower to eat the pollen. If the flower is big enough they’ll try and sleep in the flowers’ (Image: Tony Nellis)

“She’s tiny. If you think about the size of a blue bell, she must be only an inch long. When they’re on the bluebell they’re very calm.

“We have a lot of invasive species of bluebells, but to get her on one of the native species is great.

“They’re tiny so it’s very hard to shoot. You have to use a narrow angle lens but close up.

“When you’re shooting animals it’s always hard, but that day we had a very bright day. We had to wait for the sun to go behind the clouds.

“I’ve managed to get 6,000 pictures of her, but these are definitely the best.

“It’s national mammal week this week so it fits the theme.”

The harvest mouse is classed as Near Threatened on the Red List for Britain’s Mammals (Image: Tony Nellis)

Harvest mice are the smallest European rodent and typically eat seeds, insects and fruit.  

The animal is classed as Near Threatened on the Red List for Britain’s Mammals thanks to habit loss.

The harvest mouse is Britain’s only mouse with prehensile tail, which is used as an extra limb for climbing.