One of the shy Grocontinental voles.
Grocontinental's Compliance Officer explains how they have not only protected but enhanced the water vole habitat on this busy industrial site. Very few predators here too, which is a bonus!
The posts are being kept in to mark the boundary.
Below, plenty of burrows in the banks.
And plenty of latrines.
There are still one or two areas of the site that can be tweaked, but they're on the list, and Grocontinental are asking the Whitchurch Water Vole Group and Shropshire Wildlife Trust for advice.
I was invited on site for an hour and a half last night and saw three young voles. So things are looking good!
Perhaps most importantly, this colony helps keep other, nearby colonies - like the one I follow at Edgeley Road - alive and thriving. Isolated colonies quickly die out, but as long as the voles can travel between groups and exchange genes, they stay healthy.
Great work by all concerned.
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