Edward German Drive - good landowners

Baby water vole, taken by my friend James. More at his blog here: http://riveranton.blogspot.com/

Edwards German Drive - the side that's overhung by dense tree foliage

Edward German Drive -the side that's fairly clear and light (better for water voles)

Water vole droppings, Edward German Drive.

Fresh otter spraint under the bridge, Country Park.

Otter tracks (I think) emerging from the water under the bridge


Large adult water vole.

A hunt along the brook by Edward German drive shows water vole presence all along the stretch that joins Waylands Crescent - prints, feeding and droppings. I have once found a latrine down the other stretch, by Griffiths Tool Hire, but in general those banks are too shaded by householders' hedges for much to grow, so unsuitable for water voles. However, I was delighted when a man came out of one of the houses and asked me about pruning back the bushes at the end of his garden, so as to make it better for the voles.

Water Voles in your Garden

Here's a post especially for those who like water voles and gardening.
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Firstly, a great set of tips from a site called 50 Connect on how to make your garden more attractive to water voles: http://www.50connect.co.uk/home_and_family/home_and_garden/wildlife_gardening/welcome_water_voles_to_your_garden .
Next, a link about the award-winning water vole-friendly garden shown at the Chelsea Flower Show this year: http://www.rrm.co.uk/news/rattysrefuge.aspx
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And lastly, a great article by Simon Barnes in the Times which really captures the joy of water vole watching: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/simon_barnes/article3904363.ece
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Great to see people coming at conservation from another angle like this.

If you live near water voles

Hundreds of people in Whitchurch live in houses that back onto or directly face the brook, so our survey group has been busy distributing these information leaflets round the town. The leaflets detail what to look for - how to tell a vole from a rat, the obvious field signs - but they also tell householders what to do to help water voles.
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If you're lucky enough to live near voles, here's a summary of what you can do to make their lives easier:
- Got a cat? Put a blooming big bell on its collar.
- Remove any rubbish including garden waste which might stop plants growing on the banks.
- Cut back overhanging branches from trees and shrubs, for the same reason.
- Leave plants near the water's edge uncut, and never use pesticide near the water or on the banks. In late summer, carefully trim back the vegetation on the banks to a height of about 10-15cm.
- Avoid walking on the bank near the water's edge in case you damage burrows.
- You can also plant things that water voles love: crab-apple, dogrose, gooseberry, flag iris.
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The leaflet reminds us that 'corridors' are vital to maintaining a healthy population of water voles; colonies need to interbreed to keep gene stock strong. So even an unpromising-looking ditch can be a vital trackway connecting two groups of voles. And not all habitat will be in use at any one time, so even if there are no signs of water voles now, that doesn't mean there won't be in the future. They do move about (studies show an average of a mile).
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Finally, report all sightings of water voles and mink to your local wildlife trust so they can get them on record. Ten years ago some environmentalists were saying that water voles would be extinct by the beginning of the 21st Century, and we're not out of the woods yet. But lots of people all working together can make a tremendous difference.