Is This a Mouse Nest?

Since installing the mouse house in January, as a new experiment for 2021, I’ve had quite a few visits into the house.

Each visit is pretty much the same, in comes the mouse, darts around in a seemingly random fashion for around a minute and then out. A perfect example below.

However is it random? I’ve started to wonder.

I supplied the inside of the mouse house with some torn up old newspaper, thinking this would offer an ideal nesting material. Then after a while, several mouse visits later, I noticed that the newspaper was starting to take on a different shape.

I’ve taken a few pictures over the last days to show the change.

Now it rather looks to me that the last shot on the 24^th Feb shows a rather dome-like ‘nest’ shaped arrangement. Certainly when compared to the start.

It is also interesting that since the nest-like shape has been achieved the mouse has stopped visiting. Is this because the nest is now ready?

Mice will prepare several nest sites around which they will use from time to time so if this is a ready to use nest the mouse may be off preparing another site before hopefully coming back to use this one at some time. The breeding season starts about now so it could happen.

It’s my first year watching mouse activity, so I may be jumping to all sorts of conclusions, but it looks like a nest to me anyway.