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Report on the Water Vole

By Kate Green and Stacey Lunn

We would firstly like to pay special thanks to Pam Atkinson, Valerie Formby, Mike O'Kell, Nigel Grace, Emma Bate and Pat and Ernie Carroll for their support, input and use of Canadian canoe (thanks Nigel!). Can we also thank all the members of the public and Friends who took the time to stop and chat and share their tales of water voles and other experiences at Caldy Nature Park. Never before have we come across an area of land that seems to be so important and loved as this one and the passion for it is evident by the tireless work of the working party, respectful dog walkers and members of the public in general.

The past six weeks has been a journey for us, adapting to an aquatic way of life and learning how best to avoid nettle stings. On a serious note, we have felt very privileged to have been given this opportunity and we hoped that we could conclusively say that you have a thriving water vole population in Caldy Brook, but unfortunately, as suspected by yourselves, this is not the case.

Exhaustive searches were carried out along the banks and in the brook looking for field signs, such as latrines, burrows, feeding stations and pathways. Many burrows were found. however in many cases it was suspected that brown rats had taken over pre-existing water vole burrows. We were beginning to think that we would find nothing more than such burrows but as our experience and confidence in the water grew, we also discovered feeding stations and pathways. Just at the end of the survey period, we were overjoyed to find fresh water vole faecal pellets.

Although we were not able to run statistical analysis on these findings, we think it would be fair to suggest that there is some water vole activity in the brook. This is encouraging as water voles prefer to live where there are neighbouring colonies. Therefore this could indicate that there are more colonies in the surrounding areas. Population fragmentation occurs due to habitat destruction, pollution and predation by American Mink and other mustelids. We have not discovered many mink field signs but these clever little beasts don't leave many detectable signs. Having chatted to many people however, it is obvious that mink are present in the park. As there is little that can be done to prevent and discourage the mink, we have included in our report a series of recommendations.

Although slightly saddened by our findings, we feel that a negative results is just as important as a positive one. We will both be regularly using the park from now on but we might leave our waders at home in the future!!

Many thanks again.

Suggestions for Habitat Management and Protection in Caldy Nature Park

1. Mink Control: further research into effect of mink (and population of mink) on water vole in Caldy Nature Park using advanced scientific methods (radio tagging, trapping, etc)
2. Remove rubbish, debris, etc from water course and banks with particular attention to vulnerable areas
3. Control/ manage/ find source of water pollution
4. Enforce policy to deter owners from allowing their dogs to enter the water courses throughout the park (with the use of signs for example?)
5. Cut back overhanging trees, particularly ones which are extremely shady but further away from the river, as these are less likely to be invaded by mink
6. Promote public awareness of seriousness of water vole situation
7. Involve public in the conservation of the water vole
8. Plant more reed beds in suitable areas

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