Because the weather's been so wet, riparian vegetation everywhere is lusher than I've ever seen it. Great news for voles: rubbish for vole-spotters. Yockings Gate's no go area now (see photo above) and trying to see anything on the banks near Tesco is like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, there are water voles about, as these droppings under the bridge show. There are also one or two places at White Lion Meadow (the Tesco car park stretch) that could well be feeding stations, only I can't get near enough to see. I hang over the bridge and watch the leaves quiver, and I don't know whether it's the wind, the water, an insect or what moving them. But I was speaking to a man there today who said he'd had several sightings in recent mornings. I suppose it's, as always, a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
It's the same round here - apart from our tomatoes which are crinkly and brown!
ReplyDeleteI think you need a mirror on a stick - a long one - though I'm not sure what the locals will think.
An *extendible* mirror on a stick. Hmm, wonder if I could knock one up...
ReplyDeleteJust to add: the guy who collects trolleys in the car park says he saw a water vole there last week too, just under the bridge.
ReplyDelete