Monday, 3 January 2011

New Season



One of Terry Whittaker's fantastic videos to keep us going till the spring.

Matted reeds forming a protective carpet

Bank full of water vole burrows

Grazing round a burrow entrance


Typical vole-cut leaf
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Took a look at my nearest colony today not expecting to see much - ground too hard for footprints, there won't be latrines yet - but actually there was a fair bit of feeding and the burrows are obviously active, open and clear, often with grazing round the entrances. Surrounding the stream is a wide area of matted reed, perfect for hiding voles of all species, and I only had to part a few random stems to find whole networks of runs. It's a critical element of the site for these voles as the stream's so shallow there are no banks to speak of.
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5 comments:

  1. Yew Tree Avenue3 January 2011 at 12:05

    I'm very glad I came across your blog. I live in a city and have to travel a long way to get to the countryside. It means I miss out on a lot of things that you don't get in cities.
    I'm looking forward to spring and seeing/reading more about your Water Vole colony :)

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  2. Kate3 January 2011 at 12:30

    Thanks! I do a fair bit of virtual nature-watching myself. I think there is wildlife to be found in cities if you know where to look, though.

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  3. Anonymous23 January 2011 at 17:22

    Very cool blog. Like an earlier commentor, I too live in a city and love watching wildlife. Even native New Yorkers are sometimes surprised to learn that here in the heart of NYC, we have hawks, falcons, egrets and many migratory birds as well as raccoons, squirrels and even the occasional visiting coyote.

    Thanks for the info & photos of your beautiful little voles.

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  4. Anonymous23 January 2011 at 17:23

    Very cool blog. Like an earlier commentor, I too live in a city and love watching wildlife. Even native New Yorkers are sometimes surprised to learn that here in the heart of NYC, we have hawks, falcons, egrets and many migratory birds as well as raccoons, squirrels and even the occasional visiting coyote.

    Thanks for the info & photos of your beautiful little voles.

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  5. Kate24 January 2011 at 00:44

    Thank you! Nature blogs are a treat, aren't they? Because as a reader you get to enjoy wildlife walks all over the world, and share in the blogger's excitement. Have a look at some of my links for other nature blogs.

    I'd love to go over to the USA one day and take a look at the wildlife there. As you say, even in cities nature makes its mark.

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