Water Vole

Water voles, famously known as Ratty from ‘Wind in the Willows’, are the UK’s largest vole. They are often confused with brown rats, but they have a more rounded face, blunt nose and concealed ears; their tails are shorter than their chubby body.

They are the UK’s fastest declining mammal, disappearing from 94% of places where they were once common. One of the main reasons behind the drastic decline in water vole populations is the introduced American mink. These animals escaped or were released from fur farms. A female mink can fit into the vole’s burrows, preying on the young and adults and wiping out entire colonies. Monitoring for mink is ongoing around Magor Marsh.

Otters, which also occur on the Levels, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and are a European Protected Species. They are bigger and have a broader face than a mink.

Water voles are vegetarians, they munch their way along watercourses, leaving distinctive stems cut at a 45° angle, marking their territories with latrines in piles of brown-black cylindrical droppings.

They were absent from the Levels for many years and were re-introduced in 2012/13. Gwent Wildlife Trust, working with Environment Agency Wales, Countryside Council for Wales and RSPB Cymru, released more than 200 animals at its Magor Marsh Nature Reserve. They have since spread out in all directions – travelling more than 10km – colonising new ditches, reens and areas such as the area surrounding RSPB Cymru’s Newport Wetlands Visitor Centre.

They live in loose colonies in wetland habitats, living in burrows on the banks of watercourses. With its system of slow-moving reens and field ditches, the Levels makes an ideal habitat for water voles. Open reens with lush vegetation down to the water are ideal for them.

Key management

Grazing

Closely grazed vegetation is not good for water voles as it limits both foraging opportunities and cover from predators. Limiting livestock access to the reens and ditches using temporary fencing and creating access points for drinking bays will allow the vegetation to grow along most of the reen. It also avoids poaching which can affect the banks where the voles have their burrows.

Buffer strips

Buffer strips of unmanaged grassland along the side of a reen creates additional foraging habitat and provides connectivity within the landscape for water voles and other species.

Reen and ditch management

Desilting reens, water voles require water year-round, so keeping the reens open and flowing is key. Bankside vegetation is best managed on rotation, cutting one side of the ditch one year and the opposite side the following year; this ensures there is always some vegetation retained for food and cover.

Further advice on water voles and mink control can be obtained from Gwent Wildlife Trust gwentwildlife.org