Mice find far from ideal home in barn owls’ nest

The wood mice moved into the Barn Owl Tower, which was specially constructed for the nocturnal birds at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall.

And their antics are being captured by a “Mouse Cam” set up to watch them on the tourist attraction’s website at www.heliganwild.com.

Daily hits on the website have doubled since the introduction of the cameras, fuelled perhaps by people expecting the mice to meet a grisly end.

The gardens’ managing director, Peter Stafford, said: “For the autumn our team have moved the cameras underground to show life for a mouse.

“It’s perhaps not the wisest place for the creatures to make their home but it makes for fascinating viewing.” Fortunately for the mice – a major food source for the birds of prey – there are currently no barn owls in residence.