| Wildlife at the waters edge |
| Kingfisher Piscatorials |
| Cormorants have migrated from the coast due to the declining sea fish stocks. They have made their homes on inland Waters where they consume huge numbers of our freshwater fish leaving many of our waterways empty of fish. I believe that it will be only a matter of time when these birds will have taken all the small fish in our river, when that happens the birds will have to move on to find new food stocks. When that does happen hopefully the larger fish that remain will breed again and start to re-build the levels that we once enjoyed in the past, sadly this will take a number of years. The Water Vole likes to live in lowland rivers, canals and ponds where there is good marginal vegetation to provide food, cover and nesting material. The Water Vole Can be found throughout Britain. Its numbers are declining rapidly, as a result of pollution, habitat loss and predation by Mink. Otters are mainly nocturnal and naturally secretive. They are among the first to suffer from polluted rivers. They eat up to 1kg of fish a day along a stretch of river. Otters make Holts in the riverbanks and can breed at any time of the year. Kingfishers like still or gently flowing rivers with shallow areas of clear water. They excavate their tunnels and nest in steep banks about a meter above the water level to be safe from ground predators and flooding. They mainly eat small fish but also tadpoles and invertebrates Mink first became established in the 1950's, when animals escaped from fur farms. They are now present in almost all watercourses in lowland Britain. They prey on many types of small waterside animals and birds, including water voles. As a result water voles have nearly disappeared from our waterside. |