Water vole displacement - smoothing bank and marking up burrows - stage 1 and 2

Vegetation was cleared on both sides of the watercourse. Destructive searches had just been completed on the right bank where it is now being smoothed off. Smoothing the bank removes any niches and voids where water vole could return to the works area. This makes identification of any new burrows easy.

The adjacent bank has yet to be destructively searched and its burrows are currently marked up with canes. Care has to be taken to ensure that the vegetation does not grow back, so repeated clearance will be needed if there are delays between achieving bare earth and carrying out destructive searches. Each repeat visit will involve removing the canes and placing them careful back until destructive searches are complete.

Burrows need to be marked up, so that they can be identified and any debri that falls in the during repeat vegetation clearance can be removed. Whilst water vole can dig out, it is best practice and a condition of the licence to keep the burrows clear.

Видео Water vole displacement - smoothing bank and marking up burrows - stage 1 and 2 канала Leeruddecology