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Voles. Well, they are being super-coy at the moment, and I waited an hour and a half to get a glimpse of this nose. That was it for the evening.
Mean while, on the stretch where I usually sit but had given up for lack of sightings:
And round the nearest bend of the stream:
So I am doing my best, but they are not complying.
This is a pattern of behaviour I& #39;ve noted over a decade and a half: as populations peak in July, the voles are bold and numerous. Then the young disperse to seek their own habitat. Population appears to drop.
This is a pattern of behaviour I& #39;ve noted over a decade and a half: as populations peak in July, the voles are bold and numerous. Then the young disperse to seek their own habitat. Population appears to drop.
But it doesn& #39;t really. By the end of September, I& #39;m getting very few sightings, and normally they stop altogether by November. That& #39;ll be it till February/March time.
Although one did pop up on Christmas Eve this year. I spotted it as I was going to Tesco for a last-minute shop.
I also believe they become more crepuscular/nocturnal as the autumn approaches. Whether this has anything to do with predation, I don& #39;t know. There is currently a stoat on this stretch of stream, and there are always cats and weasels and barn owls about.
I& #39;ve seen polecat and otters here too. Everything eats voles, unfortunately.
