Saturday 29 March 2014

Peep




At this time of year the voles are still very nervous and I'm only getting quick glimpses. Plenty of burrows appearing, though!

Thursday 27 March 2014

On Radio 4 Extra

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03ynp0m

Here I am on Mel Geidroyc's Four O' Clock Show on Radio 4 Extra, 17 minutes in. Later on in the programme you can hear another chapter in the excellent serialisation of Tom Moorhouse's The River Singers, a thrilling story of water vole adventures.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Vole Talk at Oswestry


If you're Shropshire-based and free tonight - Weds 19th, at 7.30 - and you'd like to hear more about water voles, come along!

Monday 17 March 2014

Hello and Goodbye


 Water vole in the field off Edgeley Road


 Latrine at White Lion Meadow. Rosie Rees has seen a vole here too.

 Comma

 Brimstone

 Peacock

 Meadow pipit above, and below a goldcrest in the field off Edgeley Road



It's time to say goodbye to the foster hog we've been over-wintering in the shed. He's now 760g, which isn't a bad post-hibernation weight, and looked in good condition. I've seen three other wild hedgehogs in the garden too.

Friday 14 March 2014

Burrow Bonanza!

 These burrows in this very top photo are a good distance away from the water course.






 Burrows are neat, often with grazing around the entrance, and can be on the top of the bank or in the wall of the bank or underwater. For scale, think Pringles tube.

Sometimes latrines are hard to spot!

Suddenly there are heaps of burrows in the field off Edgeley Road. It's all looking quite good for this colony.

Monday 3 March 2014

First Sighting of the Year!

 Reed bunting at Broughall and below, one of three skylarks in the same field


 Feeding station at Broughall

Insert vole here.

Always a thrill to spot the first water vole of the year. Too quick for me to catch with my camera, but he was swimming downstream in the brook which runs through the field off Edgeley Road. There are very few signs here as yet - no latrines and hardly any burrows - although in the past this has been a very strong colony. Areas of this stretch are still flooded, so I don't know how that's affected numbers. I'll keep watching.

Saturday 1 March 2014

Broughall Again



 Lapwings and crocuses

Below, latrines and prints




There were so many latrines along the ditch at Broughall I stopped counting. How many voles on this
stretch? It's very encouraging. There was also a flock of about sixty lapwings wheeling about and calling.