It’s easy to think of the RSPB as only being about birds but in fact our remit or interest goes far beyond just birds. The work of the RSPB touches on subjects as diverse as human influence on marine environments to campaigning about proposed cuts to environmental funding.
Recently as part of the ongoing work in the South Suffolk reserves we’ve been considering how we could improve Boyton marshes and RSPB Snape for the Water vole.
The Water vole is the UK’s fastest declining mammal, staggering but true, especially when one considers the impact Grey squirrels have had on Red squirrels in the last century. Nationally the species has suffered a serious population decline. A series of surveys carried out by the Vincent Wildlife trust in 1989-90 and 1996-1998 showed that this decline had developed into a serious population 'crash' with a further loss of 67.5% of the occupied sites and 88% of the remaining population in only seven years.
Two factors have had a significant impact on Water vole in the UK. The first has been the fragmentation and loss of riparian habitats. This has been caused by human management i.e. draining, infilling, inappropriate bank management, pollution and flood management. These have separated existing populations of Water voles in to small unviable populations and mean that young water voles cannot travel to new sites or spread, effectively slowly killing them off. This situation has been exacerbated by the introduction of American Mink in the late 1920’s to the UK. The Mink has had an effect both directly and indirectly. Directly by actively predating on the Water vole and indirectly by forcing Water voles to abandon good habitat in order to seek an area that is not visited by a Mink. This combined with the habitat fragmentation has meant that in some areas the Water vole has suffered almost total loss of its population.
So, what is the RSPB doing for the Water vole, well riparian habitats are being restored throughout the reserves network with an eye for the demands of the Water vole. North Kent marshes and Rainham Marshes hold some of the big concentrations of Water vole nationally. In some extreme cases and where the science can back it up Mink are being controlled and we are also campaigning for greater protection and management of our rivers and water courses.
It is entirely possible that in the average person’s life, one will never see a Water vole, the best you can hope for sometimes is a gentle “plop” in the water as you walk along but spare a thought for them next time you stroll along Boyton marshes or your favourite stretch of river. That “plop” you hear might, just might not be a rat.