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It is now full of sedge and the water can hardly be seen:
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It was once home to a thriving water vole colony and is where I saw my first ever water vole. But that was several years ago and the sounds of water voles swimming and eating the sedge can no longer be heard.
It is also near the place where I saw my first ever live mink back in March:
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http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/03/mink-by-river-thames.html
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As most water vole aficionados know, mink are credited with the massive decline in water vole numbers in recent years and probably explains the fate of this colony.
Even if mink are in the area, if you keep your eyes and ears open, the occasional rustle in the sedge could be a moorhen or something else.
Using an apple as a bait and a lot of patience (it took 1.5 hours over three days to get this picture) the culprit is revealed, what appears to be a juvenile water vole:
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As a result, the 2010 water vole map can have an unexpected pin placed in it (green), the red pin shows the location of the mink:
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Maybe the mink is no longer in the area (moved on or dead) or perhaps the huge sedge makes the brook less appealing for mink. Whatever the reason, it seems there is still a breeding population of water voles in the brook, maybe not as large or obvious as before, but they're still there.
Result! It could well be that the mink's moved on, or died. Keep an eye out for scat (and for voles, of course!)
ReplyDeleteWell done! It's very encouraging. Hopefully there are more in the area too.
ReplyDeleteHi Kate.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to find signs of anything in the brook as it's so over grown. But I always try to keep my open for anything unusual.
Private land nearby has recently changed hands and the new owner has expressed an interest in having mink rafts. So hopefully the scale of the mink problem will soon be known.