I Think Tomorrow We Find Out Whether This Colony Will Survive

I've looked at Shropshire Planning Portal and I think tomorrow they publish their decision about whether this field, so crucial to the water voles, will be built on. If it is destroyed, I will stop blogging. I've studied these wonderful, protected animals for 20 years since coming to live in Whitchurch, and I've watched one colony after another disappear because of building work.

June 13th

 

Plenty of water voles about but they're very shy. They behave this way when there's a predator about, such as a stoat.

June 8th

 

June 6th - an Anxious Wait for the Planning Committee to Pronounce

 

We are waiting anxiously to see if this field will be built on, and the water vole colony destroyed.

A Little Bit of Activity at White Lion Meadow

 

 I've only had one actual sighting here this year, but this latrine under the bridge shows there is a population of water voles on the site.

Bigger latrine in the field off Edgeley Road. Below, a latrine right outside a burrow.

Sometimes it can be hard to spot droppings against mud. Look for the presence of flies!

Here's the little youngster with the spot on its head. It's now getting the lighter- milk-chocolate coat of an adult.

Some Videos

Feeding Stations - Can Be Subtle

 

You have to look carefully for some feeding signs.

Little One

Spotty Voles Again

 

I've logged voles with white forehead spots several times on this blog, across several different locations, e.g. Spotty Voles I don't know what causes it, though several youngsters together with the same mark suggests it's genetic. It might also suggest how much water voles travel between different sites, keeping the populations healthy and preventing inbreeding. The photos above show two different youngsters, plus an adult, and only one of the juveniles has a spot. I don't know if any of them are related.

Differences in Colour

Ideal habitat for water voles - lush cover, slow-flowing stream with a muddy bed, soft banks for burrowing. This is why it's absolutely tragic that the field might be built on.

Above, a single dropping and below, two photos of latrines. The green one is fresher than the black one.

 Baby water voles - as you can see from the photos - are noticeably darker than adults.

If We Lose This Field to Housing!

 

I think we'll find out in June whether this field will be built on and the water vole colony destroyed. It breaks my heart that these beautiful and supposedly legally-protected animals will disappear under the pressures of building work, habitat disturbance and domestic cats.