I made another trip to Arne today with Judy, we love the place. It is quieter now the holiday makers have mostly departed and most people are there for the wildlife. We were hoping to see signs of the Sika Stag rut but we only saw a stag in the fields with the hinds and all was quiet. We are going to try an early evening visit soon to see if we can see it happening. I’ll keep my eye on @RSPBArne on Twitter.

While I was watching the deer the Green Woodpecker landed close to me on the fence, he appeared very large and it was quite a surprise.

But I have to say the stars of the day were the Water Voles again. When we got to the ponds there was no sign, we waited for quite some time. Colin Varndell was there with the same aim as us to get some pictures, he had thrown some apples in the pond to attract the voles but no luck. We moved on to the hides there were a few birds about, a Curlew and Little Egret close to the hide with a few Spoonbills Heron and Cormorants a distance away.

We walked back to the ponds eventually and looked for the Voles again, our patience was rewarded eventually by a little movement in the grass on the bank although we didn’t see the Vole for a while we knew it was there feeding. At last it showed itself, it looked like a youngster and then another came out and we had a good time taking pictures. They are so lovely to see as they are the most endangered mammal species in the UK.

Conservation status
Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, and classified as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/water-vole