Dispersal

 Above: large adult with a scarred nose, probably from fighting. Below, a juvenile water vole. 

The time of year has come when water vole populations will be dispersing. For the dedicated vole-watcher, the sudden drop in sightings can make it look as if some tragedy has befallen the colony, but in reality numbers have probably thinned out in the main due to juveniles going off to seek new territories.