Feeding station at Black Park Road
Latrine
Juvenile mallard at White Lion Meadow - some of the chicks from http://staggsbrook.blogspot.com/2009/06/comedy-blackbirds.html obviously survived!.
There's plenty of activity still at Black Park Road, and down at White Lion Meadow the water channel has been swept a little clearer; maybe we'll have more sightings there soon.
ooooh, Kate. has it got something in its mouth, in that 1st pic?
ReplyDeleteYes, a piece of apple I dropped into the water ten minutes before.
ReplyDeleteI definitely wouldn't recommend regular feeding of water voles in that:
a) you don't want any wild creature to get dependent on an artificial food source
b) you might encourage water vole predators if you leave food in the same place at the same time
c) you don't want to encourage rats.
That said, the odd piece of sliced apple every now and again does no harm, and can tempt the voles out for photographs.
If the apple's not taken while I'm there, I wouldn't leave it, I'd fish it out and use it again. If you keep the apple in a bag for a few days anyway it softens, and they seem to like that.