Of mice (and voles and beetles) and men
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By David Wembridge and Emily Luck, People’s Trust for Endangered Species
The need to understand how the natural world is changing has never been greater. In the past two decades or so, the growth of citizen science has helped meet that challenge. Long-running surveys of water voles, stag beetles and urban mammals, led by People’s Trust for Endangered Species, have played a big part in that effort.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of volunteers in recording wildlife. It isn’t just the data that are collected, which go on to inform conservation, but the connection that’s built by observation, between people and their environment. Those people are more knowledgeable and mindful of the natural world and the environmental crisis facing us.
Wildlife conservation charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has called on the support of volunteers for over twenty-five years. It launched the first Great Stag Hunt, recording stag beetles, in 1998. It was repeated at four-year intervals a further two times and in 2015 went online, collecting thousands of records every year since. In the same year, the National Water Vole Monitoring Programme started in a bid to understand where the animals most needed help, in order to recover water vole populations nationally. Although very different in character, volunteers are at the heart of both surveys—as are two iconic species.
The Great Stag Hunt
Stag beetles are the largest terrestrial beetle in Britain. The enlarged lower jaws of the male form ‘antlers’, used to wrestle rivals for the attentions of a female, and from their tip to the base of the abdomen, males can reach 75mm (3 inches) in length.
Stag beetles start emerging from deep underground in late May, after overwintering as adults, in search of mates. They’re often seen flying (in a bumbling sort of fashion) around gardens and parks on warm, still evenings, and are also often spotted basking on sunlit walls and warm tarmac surfaces.
Volunteers are asked to keep their eyes peeled for these iconic insects and to record any sightings online (www.ptes.org/gsh), so that PTES can continue to build a nationwide picture of how the population might be changing. A free beetle ID guide is available on PTES’ website to help volunteers tell the difference between stag beetles and similar species.
The National Water Vole Monitoring Programme
Central to PTES’ National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP) are of course water voles – another iconic native species fondly immortalised by Ratty in The Wind in the Willows. This year marks ten years of the NWVMP, which wouldn’t be the success it is without all the volunteers who have taken part so far. Launched in 2015 by PTES, the NWVMP aims to track long-term changes in water vole populations and build on surveys first carried out in the 1980s and 1990s by the Vincent Wildlife Trust. It provides a national picture of where water voles are holding on, where they are disappearing, and where conservation efforts are making a difference.
Since the NWVMP started, more than 2,200 sites across England, Scotland, and Wales have been surveyed. This long-term monitoring helps to identify target areas for conservation and measure the impact of habitat restoration and American mink control. Each year, the data collected feeds into the Wildlife Trusts' National Water Vole Database which informs water vole policy, legislative protection and decision-making. While there have been some encouraging localised recoveries, water vole distribution has continued to decline overall, with a 39% drop in occupancy across previously recorded sites.
If water voles are to have a future in Britain, we must continue monitoring them and the best way to do this is by taking part in the NWVMP. Without monitoring and subsequent action, the loss of one of Britain’s favourite riverside rodents would be a profound failure for conservationists and communities alike.
To help, more volunteers are needed to survey our rivers, streams, ditches, ponds, and canals between 15 April and 15 June as we head into the second decade of the NWVMP. Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned surveyor, taking part is simple. Choose one of PTES’ pre-selected sites or register a new one, walk a 500m stretch of that waterway looking for water voles or the signs they leave behind, and submit your findings online.
Your survey starts with choosing a quiet stretch of local waterway and walking slowly along the bank. Keep your eyes peeled for the telltale signs of water voles - small, tic-tac-shaped droppings left in latrines, piles of freshly chewed vegetation, and neat burrow entrances with a short cropped “lawn” outside. Unlike rat burrows, which may appear dirty and worn, water vole burrows often have a well-maintained appearance.
Listening is just as important as looking and you will need to tune into the sounds around you. A distinctive “plop”, followed by ripples on the water, could mean a startled water vole has just dived in. Sometimes, after the plop, you might catch a glimpse of a water vole swimming away, close to the bank, its brown, rounded face and short tail quite different from a rat’s pointed profile.
Alongside water vole signs, we also ask you to look out for signs of otters and non-native American mink. Otters produce droppings known as “spraints”, which are typically left in prominent places along the banks such as on rocks, or under bridges to mark their territory. Spraints have a faintly sweet, musky smell and often contain fish bones and scales. Mink, by contrast, leave strong-smelling scat, sometimes twisted at the ends, which may contain fur and feathers. Gathering extra information about other riparian mammals as well as the local habitat management can also help build a fuller picture of a site’s suitability for water voles. If possible, talk to local landowners about how the site is looked after - whether bank vegetation is regularly cut, if cattle or other livestock are allowed to trample the banks, or whether any mink control measures are in place.
To help with identification, PTES’ website has free field sign guides, survey training courses, and advice on habitat management to support volunteers and landowners.
To take part, visit ptes.org/campaigns/water-voles.
Living with Mammals
Running alongside these two surveys, PTES runs Living with Mammals, collecting records of wild mammals (of any sort) in the built environment. More than four-fifths of people in the UK live in urban areas and the value of improving biodiversity and greenspace in these areas is increasingly recognised. The green spaces where we live and work support a surprising number of species: since it began in 2003, Living with Mammals has come face to face with hedgehogs, water voles, bats, badgers, rabbits and roe deer —around twenty-four species of mammal in all. Understanding how the fortunes of these wild neighbours of ours are changing gives an insight into the ‘green health’ of our towns and cities. By building a picture of how populations are changing over time, the survey identifies those species that most need help. Its findings have informed reports such as the UK Natural Capital accounts and State of Britain’s Hedgehogs reports.
To date, over 4,000 people have taken part in the online survey (www.ptes.org/LWM), which runs throughout the year but has a focus in spring and autumn. Weekly maximum counts and records of signs, such as droppings and footprints, are submitted by volunteers along with a measure of how long they looked. This enables survey efforts to be compared across years and population trends, in counts or the proportion of survey sites that record a species, to be uncovered.
Mammals, for the most part, are an elusive lot, keeping a low profile or often appearing at unsociable hours after dark. Some, like grey squirrels and foxes, are easier to spot—but no less important to record. If we ever needed one, water voles are a cautionary reminder that a once common species can disappear from under our noses.
Foxes and stag beetles might still be widespread, but there is evidence that they’re becoming scarcer. A survey by the British Trust for Ornithology shows the fox population has halved over the last 30 years and records from the Great Stag Hunt suggest stag beetle numbers, too, could be falling.
So, make a connection with nature and make a difference. Taking time to record the wildlife on our doorstep as part of a citizen science scheme is invaluable in understanding the natural world and turning the tide of loss.
Visit www.ptes.org for more information on all these surveys, and other ways to help the wildlife on your doorstep.