Still Waiting
And so we go into autumn, which is when this blog hibernates, not knowing whether the colony will be allowed to survive or not: whether the beautiful field full of the most wonderful nature will be...
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Limbo
We are still in limbo while we wait to see if the field will be built on. This colony has held steady this year and I'm still getting plenty of sightings. I pray every night that it's left alone.
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I Think Tomorrow We Find Out Whether This Colony Will Survive
I've looked at Shropshire Planning Portal and I think tomorrow they publish their decision about whether this field, so crucial to the water voles, will be built on. If it is destroyed, I will stop...
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June 13th
Plenty of water voles about but they're very shy. They behave this way when there's a predator about, such as a stoat.
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June 6th - an Anxious Wait for the Planning Committee to Pronounce
We are waiting anxiously to see if this field will be built on, and the water vole colony destroyed.
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A Little Bit of Activity at White Lion Meadow
I've only had one actual sighting here this year, but this latrine under the bridge shows there is a population of water voles on the site.Bigger latrine in the field off Edgeley Road. Below, a...
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Spotty Voles Again
I've logged voles with white forehead spots several times on this blog, across several different locations, e.g. Spotty Voles I don't know what causes it, though several youngsters together with the...
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Differences in Colour
Above, a single dropping and below, two photos of latrines. The green one is fresher than the black one. Baby water voles - as you can see from the photos - are noticeably darker than adults.
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If We Lose This Field to Housing!
I think we'll find out in June whether this field will be built on and the water vole colony destroyed. It breaks my heart that these beautiful and supposedly legally-protected animals will disappear...
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More Latrines Appearing
burrowburrow containing feedingtrampled droppings = a latrine, marking territory
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Key Features of a Water Vole
Brown, thick fur, furry tail, small ears, blunt nose, starry toes. Water vole droppings are shaped like Tic Tacs and a similar size.
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