Friday 26 June 2015

Amazing Performing Voles









The top photo gives a view of the paler pelage, which is useful for voles hiding from underwater predators like pike.

Tuesday 23 June 2015

Massive Feet


One of the ways you can tell a young water vole is by its huge feet.






Friday 19 June 2015

More Studies of Juveniles











Some of these shots show off the rounded shape of a vole, and the tidy, tucked-away ears.

Monday 15 June 2015

Milk or Plain?



One of the ways you can tell juvenile water voles from fully grown adults (and also from bank voles and field voles) is that young w-vs have darker fur. In fact very little ones, newly-emerged from the nest, sometimes look nearly black. It makes me think of the difference between milk and plain chocolate.

Saturday 13 June 2015

Focus on Latrines

 Heron, Prees Heath

 Male stonechat, Whixall Moss

 Green tiger beetle, Whixall Moss

 Below: two latrines from Black Park Road. Above, a burrow from the same area.


 Below: four latrines from Greenfields nature reserve (Whitchurch Country Park).





 Latrine, Edgeley Road

Latrine, Edgeley Road 

Juvenile water vole, Edgeley Road