The Environment Agency

  

White Lion Meadow and Timber Yard voles and latrines.

The strimming that the Environment Agency have done along the banks of the Staggs Brook looks dramatic, but it's been carefully managed with water voles in mind. The EA contacted us beforehand to discuss what they were going to do and ask if we had any thoughts, and then they did this cutting where they leave one bank alone completely and reduce the vegetation on the other, but crucially leaving a margin of cover along the water's edge. If only all habitat management was this sensitive and informed.

Drawing to a Close

I may not get many more sightings at Edgeley Road now. The voles there tend to go invisible towards the end of September. But I generally see voles at White Lion Meadow car park through October, even occasionally into November. As usual this blog will, like the voles, go into semi-hibernation during the months December and January because there won't be much to report. 

White Lion Meadow

In spite of the rubbish that's continually thrown into the brook by Tesco, the voles manage to navigate their way up and down. Here they have been using the council's plastic barrier (one of two) as a latrine. Incidentally, we always say that water vole droppings are "rounded at both ends", but this one hasn't read the handbook.

The bottom photo is a shy Edgeley Road vole.

While We Wait

I'm finding it very hard, going down to the field and knowing it's probably the last year I'll be able to photograph voles there.

This is a youngster, not a baby but not fully grown.