Bank Vole

Sunday, 3rd August 2003, West Yorkshire

Rocks | History | Workshop | Links | Home Page

We're surprised to the see a bank vole so active, running around the patio by the tub under the bird table in the bright morning sunlight at breakfast-time: vole a quick whiz by is usually all we see.

Mice and voles can be a bit confusing, so here's a list of the characteristics of the bank vole:

The ears are clearly visible (half hidden in the field vole)
Tail half as long as body (shorter in the field vole, longer in a mouse)
Adults red brown (this must have been a young one: it had light brown fur)
3 1/2 inches long, one ounce (28 grams) weight
After the wood mouse it is probably Britain's most abundant small rodent
Found in wood, hedges, scrub and gardens (field vole prefers grassland but also likes hedgerows)
Also known as the common vole (field vole is also known as the short-tailed vole and was also sometimes referred to, erroneously, as the short-tailed field mouse)
Latin name: Clethrionomys glareolus (also known as Microtus arvalis)
Eats: hazelnuts, seeds, berries, green plants and fungi.
Eaten by: kestrel, fox, tawny owl and cat

vole with young

vole babies in nest

vole

hazel nut

kestrel

tawny owl

richard@willowisland.co.uk