My little friend again

Oh, and a baby newt from Brown Moss yesterday.

Nippy

And now in motion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhbEqfEFxQw

Juvenile

Tell-take cuts show water voles have been feeding here.

A young vole with a little white patch on its head. If it survives the winter, this individual should be easy to recognize next spring.

Sunshine!

Like the Muller advert

Several people have asked me whether Shropshire's like the Muller tv advert currently running: well, yes, it is. Went for a walk this beautiful evening to check out the ditch near Grocontinental, and the place was alive with long tailed tits, piping in the hedges. I found, too, this water vole latrine in a place where I hadn't seen one before. Makes up for the fact I entirely failed to snap the vole I saw at White Lion Meadow earlier.

The importance of field signs

Click to enlarge - he's in the top left quarter of the shot

I know, I know, so much poo lately. But I hadn't seen a vole at White Lion Meadow since Thursday, so this latrine was good to see. I was getting ready to go when a vole showed itself briefly, and I managed just to catch it peeping out from the opposite bank.

Hedgehog again

This is actually a different hedgehog from before, though possibly from the same litter. I watched it eating and was impressed by how sharp its teeth were. This is definitely a little carnivore.