Water Vole signs

[coasty]

As I said in my giant hogweed post I was on a river working party the other night. One of the things we chatted about was how many of the 6 or 7 members assembled had seen the resident Otter family this year. That led us on to the realisation that no one had seen a Water Vole for at least a year . Now given that there are loads of tracks everywhere on the banks and I see Otter spraint in the same places what are the less obvious signs we need to look out for in the search for voley?

I guess this is over to you vole woman..among others...

[vole-woman]

Rolls up sleeves happily:

- one of the easiest to spot is feeding stations. Have a look on my blog for these.http://staggsbrook.blogspot.com/sear...ding%20station Basically, part long reeds and peer down at the base. Quite often fresh bright green cut stems will stand out clearly against the mud. They're almost always cut at a 45% angle (I mention this because geese and ducks also leave odd bits of reed floating around, but the end of those pieces is usually torn raggedly off any old how).

- Latrines are harder to spot because they're a smiliar colour to mud, but they're like greeny-brown Tic Tacs - v similar to guinea pig droppings. http://staggsbrook.blogspot.com/search/label/latrine

- Burrows are about the size of your fist, and the grass nearby is nibbled round. They don't have spoil heaps at the entrance, like rat burrows.

- Footprints are like little stars (though not easy to tell apart from rats'). http://staggsbrook.blogspot.com/2007...ther-vole.html

I've got photos of all these signs labelled on my blog - help yourself if you want to copy any.

[mrs fish]

Definately a question for Vole Woman

One of the things they do is have little collections of reeds stalks which they bite off, I don't know if it is their food or bedding ?

I need to know myself to look for them

[vole-woman]

june2feeding.jpg (image)

When you see them above ground like this, it's feeding, and Field Voles do it too (on a smaller scale). They do use vegetation for nests, though.

[vole-woman]

I'd recommend you take gloves (to protect your hands from getting brambled/nettled/thistled and also from Weil's disease) and also a stick to help you balance as you're climbing about, and to part the long reeds with. I use a litter-picker with a claw on the end, which is incredibly handy.

[coasty]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

june2feeding.jpg (image)

When you see them above ground like this, it's feeding, and Field Voles do it too (on a smaller scale). They do use vegetation for nests, though.

My that was quick... The river I fish and live near had voles for as long as I can remember then Mink spread in, We have had resident Otters for ten years or more but the Mink are still about. I would love to find out if they are about still ..I shall start looking and spread the word next monday as we battle with the hogweed again,,,,

[vole-woman]

Let us know how you go on!

[shirl]

Have a look at Derbys Wildlife Trust survey leaflets which might help you to identify whether what you see is Water Vole signs, good luck and do let us know

Water vole resources

Shirl

[mrs fish]

Good thread

Lots of helpful stuff

[mrs fish]

I have at last found a pic I took last year of a burrow in the ditch nearby to where I saw the Water Voles ?

Could it be a Water Voles ?

[vole-woman]

How big was it, mrs fish? It's difficult to get a sense of scale.

[djackso]

How big is a Water Vole hole? Did you say fist-sized? If so, how big is that of the rat - larger or smaller?

[vole-woman]

Only very slightly larger - in the field, it's academic. The biggest difference is that rat burrows have spoil heaps outside, but also they tend to be higher up the bank and have interconnecting runs between them.

Water Vole burrows have neat entrances, often just near water level (and below it, and above it in case of flooding). There are sometimes, grazed areas of grass near w-v burrows, or flattened areas where a fat vole bottom has sat.

[djackso]

Thanks vole-woman. You've given me lots of useful info. and plenty of ideas for my next "expedition". The rat thing is important because I see a lot of these, I'd like to see voles now instead.

[vole-woman]

Let us know how you go on, and don't forget to report water-vole or Mink sightings to your local wildlife trust.

One of my fellow volers has an idea that there are millions of undiscovered w-vs about, it's just that no one's found them. (Just battling with a hamfstxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxer on my keyboard there!).

[djackso]

Originally Posted by vole-woman

Let us know how you go on, and don't forget to report water-vole or Mink sightings to your local wildlife trust.

I never thought about that either - thanks!

[vole-woman]

It's good to let people know about the voles, especially landowners and councils. W-vs are now heavily protected by law, but even so mistakes get made. People can poison w-vs thinking they're rats, or let cattle into a field that trample the burrows. Planners, in ignorance, can grant permission for building on land where w-vs live. So it's vital, if you do find w-vs, to shout about it (to the right people).

Only this week I wrote to my local council about a planning application they were considering, which imo would jeopardise the w-v habitat. Photographic evidence, dated and with the location recorded, is a real help when arguing your case.

[mrs fish]

Here is another pic with the camera not so zoomed in, if it is any help.

[vole-woman]

Last year I photographed a w-v peeping out of a bank at the edge of a garden. During the winter, unbeknown to me, that householder put in wooden fencing against the bank right down to the water's edge, rendering that section unusable by w-vs. I suspect that action was illegal, as it would have interfered with burrows.

It's too late to take action now, and the voles have just colonised either side, but technically that householder could have been reported to the Environment Agency and the work stopped.

[vole-woman]

mrs fish, the hole looks a wee bit small to me, but I'm not good on plants so I might have got the scale wrong.

[Billy Wobble Dagger]

I've been away all week and have only just come accross this thread. I think most of the answers have all ready been said. But I thought I would mention that I normally look for the easy to spot signs first and then take it from there. The burrows are the easiest signs to spot, and yes not all burrows belong to Water Voles, but once you find a group of burrows then you can look closer for tracks, feeding signs and latrines. The size of a Water Vole burrow entrance is about the same as tennis ball or a pringles tube.



BWD

[vole-woman]

Pringles tube - that's a brilliant tip, Billy, because my 'fist-sized' might not be yours (in fact it won't be, as I've got small hands).

Smashing pic!

[mrs fish]

I was going to ask do people breed Water Voles in captivity ?

I have even looked on the net to see if you can buy them or acquire them somehow.

[Billy Wobble Dagger]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

I was going to ask do people breed Water Voles in captivity ?

I have even looked on the net to see if you can buy them or acquire them somehow.

I think there are two places in the UK that breed Water Voles. Derek Gow is certainly one of the main breeders.

Derek Gow Consultancy | Specialists in Water Vole Conservation

The captive release that I took part in was with Oxford Uni's WildCRU

WildCRU Wildlife Conservation Research Unit

Hope that helps a little Mrs F

BWD

[vole-woman]

I believe Chester zoo, Paignton zoo and Wildwood in Kent also have breeding porgrammes.