Whitwater Fishing Pool

I checked out Whitwater Fishing Pool (with permission from the owner) and there are some good water vole signs there. They're quite subtle, though, and hard to spot. Meanwhile, activity's still present at White Lion Meadow and Edgeley Road.

Belton Farm

Terrific habitat above - lots of cover and food for voles, silty stream-bed.

 



 Not so good for voles: stony stream-bed.

 

 

Three lots of nibbled snails. Who's eating these - field voles, water voles or rats?

 Trackway by the water's edge. It's a good idea to look here for prints and droppings.

 



 Edgeley Road vole

 

 Water vole 'lawn' round burrow entrance.

 

 Mallard nest

 

Very small frog

 

Lots of good signs on this morning's survey near Belton Farm, which is next to the large vole colony at Whitwater fishery. But not all the habitat is right for water voles as some of the banks are shaded and don't have enough vegetation, and not all of the stream has mud at its bottom (which water voles like to kick up as a screen to hide from predators). Lots of evidence of field voles, though.

Whitwater, and Naughty Voles

As part of a training day, we took some volunteers and ecologists round the Whitwater fishing pool to look for water vole (and field vole) signs. The banks were full of water vole latrines, trackways and feeding, and in one place we found a big group of w-v burrows set well back from the water and looking almost like a rabbit warren. Whitwater may be Whitchurch's most important colony.

This evening I went to check the field by Edgeley Road and once again a water vole raided my bag while I was sitting next to it. No photograph as it was too close to focus! All the grass around me was rustling with voles eating, and I could hear the sounds of voles further down jumping into the water. The place must be heaving with them.