Two foxes on edge of water at Old Warke Dam before returning back into woodland.

a pipistrelle bat hunting the small pool by the new bridge at midday in worsley woods

filtration lagoons lots of gatekeepers and meadow browns small whites plus 1 six-spot burnet cheers colin

dead roe deer in the canal under the motorway bridges cheers colin

In the woods this morning,

A Weasel was seen hunting in the undergrowth near the stream next to the motorway tunnel.
6 Grey squirrels
Lots of rodent footprints seen in the mud in the silted area, probably Rats. Over 30 years ago the stream flowing into the dam had a healthy population of Water voles. I think that they have all gone now.

female Roa Deer in the field across the canal from the filtration lagoons
cheers
Colin

a Weasel ran across my path in Worsley Village today

cheers Colin

Single hare in the sheep field this afternoon.

At least 4 hares this evening

At least 2 hares in the farmland surrounding the filtration lagoons this evening.

Thanks for the response Dave. The stoat wasn't dragging its prey like it would a rabbit but had it fully off the ground which made me wonder if it was a Kit. Interesting information about the delayed implantation as well

-- Edited by Joey Eccles on Wednesday 18th of April 2012 10:05:06 PM

Hi Joey
Its possible that it was carrying a kit but newborn stoats are tiny so your Stoat may have been carrying a Vole or a Mouse.
Stoats mate in late May early June but interestingly implantation is delayed until spring the next year (a 10 month gap!) and gestation is then about 30 days. A litter of Kits (young stoats) is between 6 and 12 and they are born naked , blind and deaf, they are weaned in about 5 weeks, the male stoats are not involved.

Some websites give misleading information about Stoats saying that they only hunt alone or the young only stay with their mother for between 12-16 weeks. Quite often a family group will be a mother teaching her young to hunt and after a month or two the young males will go their own way but as I have seen 2-4 Stoats together in probably each month of the year then possibly some young females stay with mum for longer.

A good place to see Stoats at the moment are while they hunt Voles and Rabbits along the fences in field 69 at Rindle especially the fence next to the rail track. They are also hunting the Rats in the ditches near where the feeders were and in the ditch opposite Nook lane.

-- Edited by Dave Thacker on Wednesday 18th of April 2012 09:30:41 PM

Incredibly a Stoat carrying a mouse or vole (though it could have been one of its kits) ran out in front of the car this afternoon on the slip road between the M602 and the M60, only just making it to the other side

Regarding stoats - will they be having kits now? I can't find any reliable information, just that the gestation period is 280 days.

Thanks,

Joey

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Wednesday 18th of April 2012 11:41:16 PM

In the woods this morning I counted over 30 Grey squirrels including 8 up the same tree.
I also saw a Fox coming out of a driveway on Broad oak road as I parked up at 5.40am
A Hare was in the field next to the filtration lagoons.

Just to go with the below comments, there was the sad sight of a dead Roe deer in the canal yesterday between Worsley and Boothstown. I do wish the canal companies would spend a few bob creating some form of escape routes along the canal.
When any animal falls into the canal it's got no chance of getting out.

4 Hare were seen around the filtration lagoons today
As was a water vole and a woodmouse

On the canal was a dead Carp of around 5lb (It looked like a Mirror Carp)
but most amazingly of all was the dead fox I first spotted 1st of January 2011! It's lost it's back legs and a lot of fur but is largely still intact. Pretty incredible really!

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 3rd of April 2012 04:05:58 PM