Water voles doing well
November 9th, 2009 | by Nick |
A British Waterways wildlife survey has shown a big increase in sightings of the elusive water vole. 89 voles were spotted on inland waterways this year, twice as many as last year. There were also numerous sightings of kingfishers – an indicator of good water quality and a healthy ecosystem, and more bizarrely a single porpoise. See also Lucy’s post Canals: corridors of wildlife and the slow-life
Some results
• Although rare, 89 water voles were spotted (twice the number than in 2008), with the most being seen on the Kennet & Avon Canal
• 127 different species of bird were sighted, including woodpeckers, reed warblers, little owls and almost 200 kingfishers
• 27 different species of butterflies were seen, including brimstones, small blues and speckled woods
• The number of frogs seen leapt three times from 2008, with three-quarters of them seen in Scotland
• The most unusual of the 42,500 sightings was a porpoise, a close relation of the dolphin, seen in the River Ouse near Selby and a large alligator snapping turtle, a non-native species from north America, at Earlswood Reservoir, Solihull
• The most water-loving bugs and beasties were sighted along the Kennet & Avon Canal, which stretches between Reading and Bristol; the Forth & Clyde Canal in Scotland, and the canals in and around Birmingham
Fears about the impact of last December’s severe weather, the coldest in 100 years, were unfounded. The drop in small bird populations witnessed in the 
The oldest osprey of the UK – and probably the world – has returned to her eyrie in the Scottish highlands. When she left for West Africa at the end of last summer, no one expected her to return. At 26 she’s lived 3 times longer than most female ospreys. In her life she’s laid 58 eggs and hatched 48 chicks, a massive individual contribution to the survival of ospreys in Scotland, where there are still only about 200 breeding pairs. The questions now are if her mate will return and if she is still fertile. Events can be followed on the 
The construction company currently finishing off the Shard building in London, which will be the UK’s tallest skyscraper, recently had to call the council to remove a squatter from the 72nd floor: a young fox. He was surviving on scraps left by builders. After a check-up at the Riverside Animal Centre, the fox has been released on the streets of Bermondsey, having shown the type of curiosity we associate with cats. 
Otters, water voles and fish are all benefitting from the improved quality of the UK’s waterways, now described as the cleanest since the industrial revolution. Since almost disappearing from the wild in the 1970s, otters are thriving, particularly in the south west of England, Cumbria and Northumberland. The population of water voles, highly precarious in the 1990s, is also beginning to recover. The good results of stricter pollution controls and extensive conservation work are set to continue in the new year with the introduction of new European water quality directives. 
