Thursday 31 March 2011

More water voles

Now the water vole breeding season has commenced, along with more clement weather and the the water side vegetation having not yet started to grow, it is probably the best time of the year to observe water voles.
Between 6.30 and 7.30 in the evening is as good as time as any to observe them, as they swim across the river...
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Or lurk just inside their burrows...
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Or just lurk on the river bank....
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Or lurk in the river itself....
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Or being argumentative with each other, possibly this is a female fending off the unwelcome advances of a male.




4 comments:

  1. Look at 'em go! They are sooo cute!

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  2. They are busy, aren't they? Great to see.

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  3. Lovely pictures. I particularly like the second one where the water vole is looking out of his/her burrow. Well done, you must have a lot of patience.

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  4. Thank you very much for your comments

    Ellen: They are very cute, but this can be deceptive, female water voles have been known to fight to the death for territory

    Kate: They are very busy, maybe it's because I've mastered the art of watching them, but there do seem to be more about at the moment.

    Rachel: Thank you for your kind words. Actually it is not that hard to get water vole photos on the Ock at this time of year (I saw 3 in 15 minutes earlier).
    Hares are a lot more difficult, I spent some time trying to take a picture of one at the weekend - gradually crawling along a field to get closer - only to find it was a female duck.

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