Hedgehogs and Shrews

Here's the only half-decent footage I've managed to capture of a water shrew. Blink and you'll miss it.

The hedgehog clip is a poser, as it turns out I've mis-labelled what's going on. What I thought was the small hog's mother was in fact attempting to mount the little hog, so I can only assume this is a very small or juvenile sow being courted by a large adult boar. How old is she? How old do females have to be to start breeding?

Of Moths and Voles

Poplar Hawk moth, Yellow Swallowtail moth, Elephant Hawk moth

Got the chance to use a moth trap in our garden and was thrilled by the results. Meanwhile, the Edgeley Road voles are still thriving.

The Ditch at Broughall

The ditch at Broughall yielded its first sighting of an adult nesting vole. It's a hopeless site for taking photos there because the vegetation's so dense, so the vole pictured here is from Edgeley Road. But I have no doubt there's a big population in the stream that crosses the bridleway.