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WATER VOLE (Arvicola terrestris)

Water voles are often confused with the brown rat, however the rat has much larger and obvious ears, a more pointed nose and a long hairless tail.

water vole © James Mortimer

 Water voles are thought to be the UK’s fastest declining mammal. They are found on the banks of rivers, ditches, streams and ponds, where they feed on the vegetation. They are recognisable by their small ears, blunt nose and brown furry tail.  Their presence is often detected by finding distinctive signs such as footprints and latrines.

water vole latrine © James Mortimer

water vole footprints © Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

The turtle dove is relatively small when compared to other doves. It has a dark-spotted brown back and inner wings, bluish outer wings and a dark, almost black tail with white around the edge. The head is grey and there is a conspicuous black and white striped patch on the neck.

This bird nest in bushes, thickets or orchards within open country with hedges or small woods.

The spotted flycatcher is brown or grey-brown above with darker brown stripes on the crown. The underparts are greyish white with brown streaks on the breast and the tail is squared. The juvenile is paler and is more mottled in appearance. This bird has a habit of flicking its wings and wagging its tail.

It nests in an open cavity in a tree, in creepers and ivy in open woodland, parkland, plantation, garden and hedgerows with trees or in houses or other buildings, in places such as window ledges or holes in the wall.

spotted flycatcher © Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

The head, breast and upper parts of the skylark are brown with streaks, whilst the underneath is white. It has a very distinctive high-pitched musical song. A ground nesting bird, the skylark is often seen hovering high above the ground during the breeding season, on moors, fields, marshes and sand dunes.

skylark © James Mortimer

The Song Thrush is similar in size to the blackbird. It has brown upperparts and dark spots on the underneath. The throat and belly are paler. It has a distinctive song with each of the separate phrases often repeated more than once. It breeds in woodland, hedgerows and in parks and gardens with suitable shrubby cover.

song thrush © Chris Gomersall, RSPB Images www.rspb-images.com

This bird is recognisable by its short, deep bill joining the curve of its relatively large head. It has rather short and rounded wings and a squared tail. Both the males and females have a black cap, wings and tail, whitish wing patches and a white rump, which is very distinctive when seen from behind as the bird flies off. The male bird has a blue-grey mantle with pinkish underparts while the female has a dark grey mantle and back of the neck with pale-brown underparts tinged pink. The bullfinch is similar in appearance to the chaffinch and therefore could be confused with this species.

It inhabits woodland, orchards, thickets, wasteland, parks, mature gardens and farmland, where it feeds on buds and seeds. The young are fed on insects.

bullfinch © Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Usually less than 10cm in length, the white-clawed crayfish has a smooth body which can vary in colour from olive to dark brown. The claws are brown above and whitish below. The native crayfish can be confused with the signal crayfish, introduced from America. The signal crayfish however has a parallel-sided rostrum and a white-turquoise patch on each clawed (see diagram).

white-clawed crayfish © Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Britains’ only native freshwater crayfish, this species is found in clean rivers, streams and canals (usually calcareous). It is an omnivore, feeding on a wide variety of animal and plant matter. Predators would include the otter, mink, brown rat, some birds and fish such as perch, trout, chub and pike. In some parts of England and Wales it has declined due to the spread of non-native signal crayfish which spread the crayfish plague fungus.

crayfish identification © James Mortimer

The depressed river mussel has a green or green-brown shell and can reach more than 10cm in length, although usually it is about 6cm long. Males are often bigger than females. It lives in the bottom sediment of rivers near the banks. Unlike the other mussel species, it usually buries itself completely in the mud, leaving its foot out to anchor itself into the substrate. It is known to live for up to 18 years. The larvae parasitise fish, probably perch and sticklebacks.

depressed river mussel © James Mortimer