Wetlandwork seesrise inwater volepopulation

ENDANGERED water voles have been taking up residence at a new habitat in South Yorkshire.

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

Works on the site began in March this year and included creating a new ditch system that stretches for more than 220m in the middle of the washland, which is 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 works on the site in Darfield have included creating three wildlife ponds. This, however, does not affect the main function of the washland, which is to act as a flood defence.

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