Bank and invisible burrow
Latrine
Latrine
Latrine (click to enlarge)
I'd have said I knew what kind of bank habitat water voles liked - plenty of reed/grass/general plant cover, lots of vegetation to eat - but after spotting four latrines within the space of just ten metres, I saw a vole shoot up the side of this bare-looking bank (top picture) and disappear into a burrow. Traditionally we've assumed overhanging trees don't suit water voles because the branches provide too much shade and inhibit the growth of riparian plants. However, there is a marshy area of reeds about 70 metres lower down this stream, so that might well be part of this vole's territory (ranges vary, according to lushness of habitat, from 20m - 130m).
Bank and invisible burrow
Latrine
Latrine
Latrine (click to enlarge)
I'd have said I knew what kind of bank habitat water voles liked - plenty of reed/grass/general plant cover, lots of vegetation to eat - but after spotting four latrines within the space of just ten metres, I saw a vole shoot up the side of this bare-looking bank (top picture) and disappear into a burrow. Traditionally we've assumed overhanging trees don't suit water voles because the branches provide too much shade and inhibit the growth of riparian plants. However, there is a marshy area of reeds about 70 metres lower down this stream, so that might well be part of this vole's territory (ranges vary, according to lushness of habitat, from 20m - 130m).
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