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It's unnerving, in some ways, seeing the same vole over and over again. When you don't recognize individuals, you can kid yourself there might be lots of them. And there might be others, it's just that I haven't seen an adult since the middle of last month.
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One of the ways you can tell Spot's a juvenile is the size of his feet in relation to his body (they're massive). It's easy for me to see he's small because I watch him in context; at the moment he looks more like a field vole.
A good thing is he’s comfortable in the environment and feeding regularly. I wonder if he thinks he needs to put on a good deal of weight for the winter which is why he’s seen so often. Perhaps the grown-ups are a bit more settled.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Dave.
ReplyDeleteAt least they don't have to get weight up to hibernation levels, like hedgehogs (though they do need to be of a certain weight to get through the winter. I must try and find out ehat that weight is).
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to get such good views of water voles. I'd be overjoyed if I could get photos like this of my elusive water voles! I'm sure he can't be the only one, maybe he's just being protective of his feeding ground... he will invite the others once he's eaten everything :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Could be!
ReplyDeleteI put in a lot of hours watching, Jane, to get maybe half a dozen clear shots a year (if that). A lot of the time I stand on the bridge and see nothing. But what's nice is there's nearly always someone stops for a chat about the voles. I've met some lovely people over the three summers I've been logging sightings there.
All I can say is "well done" for getting those half dozen shots - they are brilliant little creatures. I will now go away and write my lines "must try harder" 100 times! :) Jane
ReplyDeleteYou might want to hang on now till the spring - not much vole action over November-January! :-)
ReplyDelete