Tales of the Riverbank

Monday, 17 April 2017

The Llangollen Canal

Bee fly. I love them.

Definitely vole feeding. Water vole? Or field vole?

This burrow is the right size for water vole.

I found myself on a stretch of the Llangollen canal past Ellesemere where I knew there was a history of water vole presence, so I stopped and had a look. The signs weren't quite as definitive as last time, but there were quite a few burrows of the right diameter - think Pringles tube - and some definite feeding. However, it's not just water voles who cut stems at 45%; field voles do too, and there were also field vole burrows. So this is a site to watch, I'd say.

Sunday, 16 April 2017

A Spot of Video Footage

The wound on the side of the vole's head is clearer here.

Black Park Road

Black Park Road as it looks now, with (below) burrows and feeding signs.

A quick check along this stretch of the brook shows water vole presence every few yards. The vole pictured is one of the Edgeley Rad colony, but it has a wound on the left side of its head. I don't know how bad the damage is. You very often see one-eyed voles, or voles with scarring due to fighting, and they seem to manage all right. I suppose it depends whether the wound becomes infected or not.

Thursday, 13 April 2017

Further Afield

Yellowhammer, on Prees Heath

Burrows along Edward German Drive

Great crested newts, Brown Moss

Water vole burrows and a vole "lawn" at Greenfields (Whitchurch Country Park)

The brook as it passes through Greenfields nature reserve

Mossfields, the back of Saddler's Walk, and one of many many feeding stations there

White Lion Meadow vole from this evening

A reminder that water voles leave piled of chopped-up vegetation, cut slantwise at both ends (see 7th pic down). Field voles also do this, but on a much daintier scale and using smaller leaves, eg juncus and blades of grass. Field voles are also more likely to poo on their feeding stations.