New West Sussex home for 'endangered' water voles

Water voles on the West Sussex coast are to be encouraged to move to a new habitat created by flood defence work.

Work began in November on the £15m Selsey sea defences to protect 300 homes at risk of flooding.

A new wetland habitat on Manhood Peninsula, west of Selsey, will be created as part of the project.

A 30-strong team of volunteers will monitor the condition of ditches, streams and ponds leading to the area from the voles' existing habitat.

The Manhood Wildlife and Heritage Group project has been given a grant of £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the work.

Defences breached

Dr Jill Sutcliffe from the group said: "We need to ensure that the ditches that lead to those new habitats are in good condition.

"The key aim is to create a long term sustainable future for the endangered water vole."

The existing shingle defences at Selsey Bill were breached in 2008 and a beachfront campsite, with more than 2,000 static caravans, had to be evacuated.

The new four-mile long sea defences will be built further inland and will also create a new wetland habitat for wildlife.

Water voles have become endangered after the destruction of their habitats and the introduction of the American mink which preys on them.

In 2005, 171 water voles were reintroduced to the Arundel Wetland Centre by the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.

These have now bred and successfully established themselves in their new habitat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-16635298

Endangered species finding a new home in South Yorkshire

Water voles, one of Britain's most threatened mammals, have been taking up residence at a new habitat in South Yorkshire.

In 2009 ecologists from the Environment Agency discovered water voles living in Little Houghton Marsh, near Darfield in a flood defence washland. Since then the site has been developed as a wetland reserve and the water vole population has now grown.

Work to the site started in March 2010 and included creating a new ditch system that stretches for more than 220 metres in the middle of the washland. The ditches are deep enough to contain water all year round.

Environment Agency biodiversity officer Andrew Virtue said: “when we visited the site in 2009 we noted that the present ditch system was very shallow and prone to drying up. The water vole population at Little Houghton is isolated from other sites and we wanted to create a permanent home for the voles by extending and deepening the ditches.

“Although it is quite difficult to spot these little creatures, there are now clear signs of increased use by water vole, including fresh burrows and lots of water vole droppings along the banks of the new ditches. We are surprised how quickly they have been colonised – the voles are clearly happy.

“We will be visiting the site over the coming months to get more accurate numbers of exactly how many more water voles there are, since our initial estimate of 20 adults in late 2009. Other wildlife will also benefit from the ditch system, including birds, amphibians and grass snakes”

Other work to the site includes the creation of three wildlife ponds. None of this work affects the principal function of the washland site - to help protect the people of Darfield from flooding.

The project is part of the Dearne Valley Green Heart , a partnership between the Environment Agency, Natural England and RSPB creating a significant network of wildlife sites in and around Barnsley.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/123217.aspx

Endangered species finding a new home in South Yorkshire

Water voles, one of Britain's most threatened mammals, have been taking up residence at a new habitat in South Yorkshire.

In 2009 ecologists from the Environment Agency discovered water voles living in Little Houghton Marsh, near Darfield in a flood defence washland. Since then the site has been developed as a wetland reserve and the water vole population has now grown.

Work to the site started in March 2010 and included creating a new ditch system that stretches for more than 220 metres in the middle of the washland. The ditches are deep enough to contain water all year round.

Environment Agency biodiversity officer Andrew Virtue said: “when we visited the site in 2009 we noted that the present ditch system was very shallow and prone to drying up. The water vole population at Little Houghton is isolated from other sites and we wanted to create a permanent home for the voles by extending and deepening the ditches.

“Although it is quite difficult to spot these little creatures, there are now clear signs of increased use by water vole, including fresh burrows and lots of water vole droppings along the banks of the new ditches. We are surprised how quickly they have been colonised – the voles are clearly happy.

“We will be visiting the site over the coming months to get more accurate numbers of exactly how many more water voles there are, since our initial estimate of 20 adults in late 2009. Other wildlife will also benefit from the ditch system, including birds, amphibians and grass snakes”

Other work to the site includes the creation of three wildlife ponds. None of this work affects the principal function of the washland site - to help protect the people of Darfield from flooding.

The project is part of the Dearne Valley Green Heart , a partnership between the Environment Agency, Natural England and RSPB creating a significant network of wildlife sites in and around Barnsley.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/123217.aspx

Sexually rampant voles ruin Yorkshire village's tourist trade

METRO REPORTER - 16th June, 2010

Visitors to Flaxton in north Yorkshire are being forced to take a 10km (six-mile) diversion because of a colony of breeding water voles.

The village’s shops and pub are suffering a trading slump after bridge repairs had to be suspended until the autumn – when the voles have finished mating.

Landlady Lorraine Ritchie, of the Blacksmith’s Arms, said: ‘We’re losing £700 a week and this is the busiest time of the year. We’ve come through the recession and we can’t get on.’

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/831209-sexually-rampant-voles-ruin-villages-tourist-trade

Watch out Mr Toad, Ratty's eating frogs

LONDON (Reuters) - British ecologists have discovered evidence that normally herbivorous water voles living alongside canals and rivers have been eating frogs' legs this Spring. The timid water vole, immortalised as "Ratty" in the "Wind in the Willows" children's novel and films, is Britain's fastest declining mammal and is known to have a largely vegetarian diet consisting of grass and plants.

05 May 2010 13:28 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British ecologists have discovered evidence that normally herbivorous water voles living alongside canals and rivers have been eating frogs' legs this Spring.

The timid water vole, immortalised as "Ratty" in the "Wind in the Willows" children's novel and films, is Britain's fastest declining mammal and is known to have a largely vegetarian diet consisting of grass and plants.

However, a survey along the Kennet & Avon Canal in the southern English county of Berkshire has revealed that these shy, furry animals have developed a taste for continental cuisine and have been snacking on frogs' legs, as well as the odd snail, British Waterways said in a statement on its website.

British Waterways ecologist Robert Randall said his team found a number of typical water vole feeding areas that were littered with dead frogs, minus their legs.

"We're not really sure why it's happening, but as the evidence coincides with the water voles' breeding season, we think it may be that pregnant mothers are snacking on frogs' legs as they lack protein in their diet," he added.

"This is incredibly unusual behaviour and as far as we know this is the first recorded evidence we have of them eating frogs' legs, so it's a really exciting discovery."

British Waterways asked people to report any water voles they see or any other wildlife activity in the country's canals and rivers on its website at www.waterscape.com/wildlifesurvey.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; Editing by Steve Addison)

http://news.stv.tv/oddly-enough/175140-watch-out-mr-toad-rattys-eating-frogs/

Voles' frog food

05 May 2010 16:30 GMT

British water voles have been eating frog's legs.

Researchers in Berkshire, England, were stunned to discover a group of the rodents have been dining on the tasty treats - typically served as a delicacy in French restaurants - possibly as a way of getting protein into their usually vegetarian diet.

Ecologist Oda Dijksterhuis said: "We found a number of typical water vole feeding areas that were littered with dead frogs, minus their legs.

"As a water vole's diet is normally vegetarian, this rather gruesome scene isn't what we'd expect to find at all."

Numbers of water voles are decreasing in the UK, with as little as 220,000 thought to now live there - down from eight million in 1960.

http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/175179-voles-frog-food/