Water Vole Arvicola terrestris

Water voles do not travel very far from their burrows. A female will have a territory of about 30 to 150 metres and males range over about twice that. Young water voles will travel up to about 1 kilometre when they leave the ‘nest’ in summer or autumn and disperse into the surrounding area.

When travelling, water voles use the water courses to get around. They do not travel over land although they will forage within a few metres of the water’s edge.

Probably, however, you are unlikely to see them until the vegetation grows back as they will mostly stay underground in their burrows. Removal of the vegetation – often necessary to keep waterways clear - not only removes the voles’ food but also takes away the cover that protects them from predators. For this reason it is probably not advisable to try and provide food for them. You should be able to see evidence of water voles out and about again once the vegetation starts to re-grow.

The water vole is in serious rapid decline and much is being done to conserve the species. It is a priority species in the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan, and East Anglia is an important national stronghold for the water vole. Therefore it can be considered to be lucky to have these creatures in your garden. It was a water vole which was named “Ratty” in the famous The Wind in the Willows stories.

Water voles have full protection under theWildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (amended) which means that it is illegal to kill or disturb the shelter of a water vole. Young male water voles disperse from the nest when they are about 4 months old to find new habitats, it is quite common for them to then move on again to a more suitable habitat. Their occupation of small, lined garden ponds tends to be transient and it is most likely that the voles will move on. Water voles can not be moved without a conservation licence issued by Natural England.

For more information read our Water Vole Species Profile

The water vole and its burrows are both protected by law. It is illegal to kill, injure or take one from the wild. It is also illegal to intentionally or recklessly damage or disturb the places they use for shelter. This protection is afforded by the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981(amended).

Both species are agile swimmers and catch fish by chasing them underwater. The otter needs to eat 20 per cent of its body weight in food every day - about 2.5kg and will be able to tackle larger prey items than mink. Otters will usually eat the fishes head first and will quite often leave the tail. The mink has a wider diet but will take smaller fish. A feeding station will contain lots of fish scales and fins especially in the winter months.

To ascertain which species is involved you should firstly look for any footprints the animal may have left in the mud around the feeding area:

Otters are much bigger than mink and have 5 toes on each foot connected by webbing (although this is not always obvious and the print marks left usually only show four toes). The overall footprint shape resembles that of a kite with a footprint approx 7cm long and 6cm across. The hind print is generally bigger and can be up to 9cm in length. The claw marks are represented as slight indentations.

Mink also have 5 toes on each foot but the prints are much smaller with fore prints approx 3.5cm long and up to 4cm wide. The hind print is up to 4.5cm long. The prints are roughly oval in shape with clearly defined claw marks

Your next piece of detective work would be to see if the animal may have left some droppings nearby:

Otter droppings (called Spraints) are black and slimy when first deposited and have a strong oily smell. Over time however they become light grey and lose their thick consistency. The droppings are made up almost exclusively of fish bones, scales and the hard shell fragments of crustaceans. Otters use droppings as scent markings and they are quite often left in exposed places (raised banks or vegetation, stones etc).

Mink droppings are generally 6-8cm long and approx 6-9mm wide. They are often twisted and pointed at one end. Close examination is likely to show a much wider range of prey remains including the fur and bone fragments of small rodents, bird feathers and also the husks and pips of fruit and berries. If the mink has been eating fish the droppings are likely to resemble thin otter spraint but with a faintly acrid smell. The droppings are often used as scent markings, although some will be inconspicuously placed.

The otter is a protected species and it is illegal to trap or harm it in anyway. The mink however is a relatively recent introduction to Great Britain, and represents a threat to some native animals, in particular the water vole. Mink are categorised as a pest species and are widely trapped.

These animals, descendants from mink that escaped or were intentionally released from fur farms, are an ‘alien’ species, and don’t fit properly into Norfolk’s ecology. The American mink is a very undesirable resident in Norfolk and certainly not to be encouraged; in fact, due to the damage the animal can cause to native wildlife, especially species such as the water vole, the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership is undertaking ongoing control programmes in mid-Norfolk and the Broads. Gamekeepers also undertake mink control in order to reduce predation of pheasants and partridge, all of which contributes to the control of this predator.

Mink also hunt water birds, such as moorhen and ducks, and a noticeable decline in numbers of birds may indicate that mink are in the area. Mink are aggressive predators and will overkill prey. They can cause significant damage to housed or penned game birds or poultry by killing large numbers, far more than they can eat, and they may also damage fish stocks.

There are so many reasons!

• Your records can help identify areas which are especially important for wildlife in your local area.
• They can provide up-to-date information on local wildlife and identify changes which may be linked to climate change, or factors such as local developments or new farming practices.
• They can help identify areas that local people feel should be protected.
• They can provide information which will help management and enhancement of local areas to benefit wildlife.
• You can create a baseline record which will enable future changes to be monitored.
• They can help identify species in decline or under threat.
• They can identify the sites of rare species and enable them to be protected – some species such as badgers, bats, water voles, great crested newts and rare nesting birds have existing legal protection, but if no one knows where they are then they can’t be protected.
• Wildlife records can be used to encourage local awareness, interest and pride in things that make your area special.
• They can help inform local conservation policies and may be relevant information if future developments are proposed or planning applications made.
• Surveys can be the starting point for future community conservation projects which will help celebrate and protect the wildlife and habitats you discover.

Recording is enjoyable and can be addictive! It is a way to further your enjoyment of wildlife in your local area and once you start recording you will almost certainly notice far more that you did before. It can also be a way of getting to know your local area better, meeting other people interested in wildlife and forming or joining a group to share and develop your identification skills and knowledge of wildlife. getting started