Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Water Voles

Jo Cartmell's water vole website

Introducing a shiny new information round-up on all matters water vole. Thank you, my dear friend Jo, for all the amazing conservation work you do!

Sudden Drop

There's been a change in activity at the Edgeley Road site. Sightings are suddenly scarcer, and the voles less confident about showing themselves, though I know they're about because the're still leaving field signs. I hope it's just the usual pattern of population-peak-and-dispersal that happens every year. Normally I see it in August, so it's earlier than I'd have expected.

Squabbles

Adult water voles, like hamsters, just aren't comfortable being near each other.  A big spat ensued after I snapped this photo.

At White Lion Meadow: tell-tale feeding sign.

Hello Class 3!

BBC

Feeding a mum water vole and her baby

Smallest Vole EVER

I was down at the town car park, looking at the feeding signs and droppings that told me water voles were still very much present - even though it's hard to see much through the undergrowth. Suddenly the tiniest vole I've ever seen in ten years of watching swam past. It was only the length of a small mouse; in fact when it sat down to eat, its size and shape put me in mind of a furry Brussels sprout. As you can see from the photo, it was small enough to sit on a glyceria leaf! 

There were also two adults about, so this stretch of the brook is clearly as busy as ever.

Who's Broken into this Burrow?

I came across this collapsed-looking water vole chamber, but I don't think it had just fallen in naturally because we've had no rain lately, and also some of the bedding had been pulled out. So my guess is digging badgers, or dogs. There were fresh vole droppings inside, though, so there are clearly voles still using the burrow system.

Delighted to see close up this adult water vole with a white spot on its head. I can only assume this is the grown-up baby I saw a few weeks ago. It's not often you can recognise individuals!

Still Vole Presence at the Back of Tesco

 Latrine at the Wood Yard

Adult and baby voles in the field off Edgeley Road.