Monday 12 March 2012

Still Waiting



Water vole starry footprints

  
Neatly trimmed water vole burrow, about the diameter of a Pringles tube.


Common newt in my pond

We're still getting frosty mornings here so the frogs are holding off on spawning and I've still only seen one water vole latrine yet. Plenty of vole paw prints, though, and new burrows appearing every day. So I hope the first sighting isn't too far away now.

4 comments:

Steve Plummer said...

Hi Kate,
the fact that you haven't seen a vole yet is strangely encouraging to me...I've had 2 brief sightings but had expected a lot more by now considering the amount of time I've spent in the field! :-)
Best wishes,
Steve.

Kate said...

It isn't that late for me, really. My last few years' records suggest that 19-26th March is the usual pattern for this colony. I'm always amazed when people in other parts of the UK report seeing them in the winter. Mine seem to make themselves very scarce between Oct-Feb.

Steve Plummer said...

I had my first really good view of the season today....here's hoping yours is just around the corner!
Best wishes,
Steve

Kate said...

Oh, well done. I might nip down tonight and see what's happening in my corner. Full survey day on Saturday. :-)