Water voles move into old colliery site in Yorkshire

Water voles have returned to Bentley Community Woodland

April 2010. Water voles have taken up residence at a former South Yorkshire colliery site now being transformed into a vibrant community woodland.

A healthy population of endangered water voles has gained a foothold at 91 hectare (232 acre) Bentley Community Woodland, near Doncaster. The news has delighted conservationists battling to save the animal from extinction in England.

Adrienne Bennett, Forestry Commission Ecologist and Biodiversity Officer, said: "The transformation of Bentley from an industrial wasteland into a vibrant woodland also included the creation many new water features. It's ideal habitat for water voles and it's fantastic to see them taking the initiative and settling across the site."

Loss of habitat and mink
Loss of river bank habitat and predation by mink are just two of the factors behind the water vole's demise. Over the last 60 years they are said to have vanished from 90 per cent of their former UK haunts. Persecution has also played its part as superficially the creature resembles a rat - a case of mistaken identity not helped by the water vole in Wind in the Willows being called "Ratty".

Special rafts
But now its prospects are improving and the news from Bentley represents a major step forward for biodiversity locally. The survey was carried out in March. Water voles are notoriously elusive, so to help track them down wooden rafts were left anchored near likely habitats with a tasty bit of apple on board to provide an irresistible treat. These rafts were then used as a latrine to mark territories, providing droppings which experts used to make a positive identification. In total 30 latrines were found.

Bentley Community Woodland is owned by the Land Restoration Trust and managed by the Forestry Commission. Over 100,000 trees were planted and a 12 hectare (30 acre) wetland area created, along with water courses and reed beds.