SOME of you who follow me on social media may know that Chris and I are expecting a baby girl this July.
We are excited and looking forward to a new journey. I am particularly looking forward to starting new wildlife adventures with my daughter.
Recently, someone asked me if I would give up on wildlife photography once I become a mum and I replied that this would never happen. There are two things that are important for me to share with my child: my Polish culture and a love of wildlife. Even now, I am still attempting small walks with my camera and was lucky to photograph short-eared owls. I must look comical with a big baby bump and even bigger camera!
Apart from the owls, I was also photographing field voles, as these two species correlate. They are tiny and adorable creatures, but also an absolute challenge to photograph!
A field vole. Image: Zan Threlfall
The field vole (also known as the short-tailed vole) not only blends perfectly into vegetation but can also sense the smallest movement and hide as soon as you attempt to approach it. Although they are not easy to spot, they are Britain’s most common mammal, with a population of around 75 million!
The field vole is active day and night, and they play a key part in the food chain. The voles form an important part of the diet of many carnivores and birds of prey. They have a big impact on the numbers of capercaillie because when vole numbers are low, their predators will switch to other food sources and start hunting the rare bird. The voles are also a great indicator for owl numbers – a year rich in voles usually suggests a lot of opportunities to photograph the owls.
The field voles have grey-brown fur above and creamy-grey fur below. They can be easily mistaken for their slightly bigger cousin, the bank vole. The best way to tell them apart is to look at the tail: the field vole’s tail is much shorter and is about one-third of their body length, while a bank vole’s tail is about half the length of their body. The eyes and ears of a field vole are also less prominent than those of a bank vole.
READ MORE: Zan's Wildlife Diary: An easily found but undervalued bird
Although cute looking, the field voles can be aggressive as they defend their territories. They often get in fights with each other, emitting loud squeaks. They do not do well with climbing but are quite good runners as they commute through a network of small runways with multiple underground tunnels and entrances.
To mark the boundaries of their territory, the voles leave a strong scent in their runways. Although the marking works in keeping other voles away, it is unfortunately visible in the ultra-violet part of the spectrum, alerting raptors to their presence.
The field voles are predominantly herbivorous – their diet mainly consists of grass, leaves and seeds, and it is occasionally supplemented with roots, bulbs and bark, especially during the winter months.
I was lucky with the individual that I photographed. I spotted it from a distance and started off with taking a few distant shots.
There were moments when the vole was just wandering under the leaves and I could not see it, but I waited patiently in the same spot. Fortunately, the vole started walking my way, consuming small leaves and seeds on the way up.
My best advice for photographing voles is to stay still – every potential movement can spook them!
Speak to you next time!
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