Water Voles
Water voles are the UK's fastest declining mammal. They used to be common along lakes, rivers, streams and marshes. Now the loss of their habitat through inappropriate management and predation by mink means that there is only one vole for every twenty that were alive in 1900*.
The Smithy Fen Engine Drain runs along the border of our land, and several of us had noticed holes along the banks and there had been a couple of sightings of what we thought (hoped) were water voles. So on 27th February '06 we had a visit from the local Wildlife Trust to investigate. They found water vole droppings, and chopped grass in a feeding area (characteristic of water voles), confirming that they were indeed present. This site is where the engine drain converges with another ditch, which had made it difficult for the authorities to cut the vegetation there and hence was a suitable habitat. We hope that we can persuade the drainage board to cut the vegetation in 100m strips, alternating the strips that are cut yearly, or else cut only one side of the ditch each year. This would increase the size of suitable habitat for the water voles and hopefully increase their numbers.
We hope to have another visit later in the spring to map the extent of the population. Watch this space.
For more information on water voles visit the following sites:
Cambridge & Peterborough Biodiversity Partnership
*Source: Cambridge & Peterborough Biodiversity Partnership leaflet