Bank Voles - do they Squeak?

gentlefern · #1 (**permalink**) 26-09-2010, 02:11 PM

Hi all,

I went on a Dawn Chorus event a few months backat Gelli Hir Woods, Gower and one of the participants pointed out a squeaking noise. I'd heard it before and assumed that it was a bird call. But apparently it's not. This gentlemen knew it was a vole but couldn't remember which one. That sort of stuff happens to me all the time

The next time I was on the Reserve I heard the calls and decided to investigate. Sure enough, when I crept closer to the sound, it was coming from thick bramble cover at the side of the path. I got even closer and could see little mammals of some description scuttling along in tunnels in the vegetation under the bramble canopy. They were way to quick for me to catch on the camera. I did try, but I just took lots of blurred bramble shots

I'm pretty confident that we have Bank voles in the proximity as I took some chewed hazelnuts along to our local Wildlife Trust meeting and the Dormouse Expert confirmed that they were bank vole chewed nuts. However nobody else could confirm whether Bank Voles make these bird call type squeaks.

I'm hoping that someone on here can confirm for sure that they are Bank Voles, or how I would go about confirming it 100% myself.

cheers

PS I have tried googling for Bank Vole calls but nothing of any real use came up.

vole-woman · #2 (**permalink**) 26-09-2010, 03:08 PM

Well water voles certainly squeak, and it's a high piping sound quite like a bird. So I'm not surprised to hear bank voles also squeak.

I've forgotten the diffrence between bank- and field voles - does the former have a shorter tail? Someone here will put you right on that, I've no doubt.

The Woodman · #3 (**permalink**) 26-09-2010, 04:10 PM

I was flumoxed a few years when doing a bat survey at a lime kiln due for restoration. I was hearing a regular call on my bat detector at a very low frequency and eventually tracked it down to a single bank vole baby in a grass nest I was trampling on.

The field vole has the shorter tail, a much stronger head and grey rather than a chestnut brown.

gentlefern · #4 (**permalink**) 27-09-2010, 06:03 PM

Thanks Vole Woman and Woodman,

I dream of finding Water-voles!

I love this forum, I literally learn something new every day.

vole-woman · #5 (**permalink**) 27-09-2010, 07:10 PM

If you are ever passing through n Shrops in the spring, summer or early autumn, I will gladly introduce you to some water voles.

gentlefern · #6 (**permalink**) 27-09-2010, 09:39 PM

Oh wow that would be fantastic! I'll take you up on that offer. Thankyou very much. I
've have seen one down at Wetlands Trust when we went on an Otter and Water-vole introductory day. They had caught one so that we could see what they are like and demonstrate weighing etc. It was going on that day that made me realise you don't have to be a scientist in order to go out there and observe nature.

I now volunteer for my local wildlife trust and they let me have free roam of their new reserve recording whatever species I come across. But it was the Water-voles and Otters that got me started. I haven't spotted any of either on the new reserve but I'm still finding my way around it to some extent. There's plenty of water around and we do have Otters on Gower, not so sure about water-voles though. Maybe I'll make that my focus tomorrow. I going there for the day. Better read up on my notes.

gentlefern · #7 (**permalink**) 28-09-2010, 07:23 AM

What an amazing blog Vole-woman. I've subscribed and I'll be following it avidly. I tried to post you a comment on there, but my internet was very slow for some reason and I gave up.

I've been trying to get signed up for water-vole surveying volunteering down here, but not much luck yet. It'd be cool to find signs of them and call in the experts though. I've had my otter spraints confirmed by The County Recorder, so I know I'm getting that bit right.

Reading your blog has helped as you've got some excellent field sign pictures up there.