Thursday 23 February 2012

A Sight to Gladden the Heart



I can't decide which is lovelier, the open crocuses or the establishing of a proper water vole latrine on the sandbank where I found the droppings. Once latrines are up and running, I know where to site my camera to get the first vole footage of the year.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Gearing Up



Burrow about the diameter of a Pringles tube.


A vole from last year.


Diagonal-cut thick chunky plants are a reasonable indicator of water vole feeding. 


Starry prints.


Water vole field signs at this time of year, in my experience, are quite subtle. Neat burrows appearing at the edge of the water course are the main ones to look out for, and starry pawprints in the mud, and a general vole-scaping of the banks. It tends to be next month when I start to get sightings and that latrines appear. However, a quick scout round the field off Edgeley Road reveals a couple of droppings on a sandbank, which might develop into a latrine when the breeding season gets going.