In an absolute nothing of a ditch, in a field near Grocontinental, water voles are obviously thriving: this despite the rubbish in there, and the fact the ditch doesn't seem to be part of a continuous watercourse. The latrine directly above is fresh (you can tell because of the greenish colour), and the top ones on the slabs of polystyrene show evidence of trampling, which is a territorial behaviour..
It goes to show how an area can, at a casual glance, look like a filthy hole, but in fact be a really important little environment - in this case a refuge for Britain's most threatened mammal. Council planners, take note!
2 comments:
How I ended up at this blog is weird, but suffice to say I got hooked and read some more.
Unfortunately, 9 out of 10 folks would think a vole was a rat. So paranoid are we of rats and mice. Myself included, probaly. But on second glance I can see what a 'cute' mammal these voles are.
I am commenting because its amazing how many real wild life photos you manage to get.
Keep it up :)
-John, Oxford
Aw, thanks, John.
I'm a real fan of small mammals - I think one of my best moments was holding a dormouse on a field survey day.
Anyway, you spread the word about water voles. Plenty of them round the Oxford area, I think. Check out 'Views of the Ock' for starters! http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/
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