Day 2 - 12.06.2019 - Water Vole Survey (conserve)

On my second day of MHS Junior Rangers, we travelled to the David Marshall Lodge in Aberfoyle to meet Emily from the Trossachs Water Vole Project and the Foresty Commission. Before we went out, she gave a really interesting presentation on the key signs to look for when doing a water vole survey. These included the star-shaped footprints and tic-tac sized poo, we also discussed some of the reasons why water voles became an endangered species - habitat loss, minx, etc. We then moved to Loch Ard Forest where we kitted up in waders (image 1) and walked into a burn to look for signs of water voles (image 2). Unfortunately, my group didn't find anything, and this could be partly due to the recent rain but other groups did have something to report, including poo and footprints.