Amazing Performing Voles

The top photo gives a view of the paler pelage, which is useful for voles hiding from underwater predators like pike.

Massive Feet

One of the ways you can tell a young water vole is by its huge feet.

More Studies of Juveniles

Some of these shots show off the rounded shape of a vole, and the tidy, tucked-away ears.

White Toenails

Milk or Plain?

One of the ways you can tell juvenile water voles from fully grown adults (and also from bank voles and field voles) is that young w-vs have darker fur. In fact very little ones, newly-emerged from the nest, sometimes look nearly black. It makes me think of the difference between milk and plain chocolate.

Focus on Latrines

 Heron, Prees Heath

 Male stonechat, Whixall Moss

 Green tiger beetle, Whixall Moss

 Below: two latrines from Black Park Road. Above, a burrow from the same area.

 Below: four latrines from Greenfields nature reserve (Whitchurch Country Park).

 Latrine, Edgeley Road

Latrine, Edgeley Road 

Juvenile water vole, Edgeley Road