First a little about me. I’m a member and volunteer with the local wildlife trust and my main wildlife interest is the water vole, and I spent the summers of 2005 and 06 surveying them to the west of Oxford. By spending so much time at the rivers edge my eyes have been opened to the huge amount of other wildlife connected to our river systems. I moved to Hampshire last summer but unfortunately by the time I contacted the wildlife trust the water vole surveying season was all but over. Since then I’ve been on a bat walk and survey at Rooksbury Mill, attended the launch of the River Anton Project at the Lights Theatre in Andover, as well as regular visits to Rooksbury Mill.

The blog, as part of the River Anton project will let you know a little of what is happening along the river. I hope to tell you mainly about the water voles colonies, but also about the huge amount of other wildlife that live along the course of the river. I’ve mentioned Rooksbury Mill already and I’ll try and give weekly or fortnightly reports from there, and any other Wildlife Trust activities that I’m involved in.

I’ve had several visits already to Rooksbury this year and despite the freezing weather I’ve been rewarded with some wonderful wildlife. Not only a water vole but some very fresh latrines, water vole toilets, in other parts of the reserve so there are at least two water vole hotspots. I’ve also seen some evidence of otters by one of the weirs. The lovely king fisher is there nearly every visit normally by the stew ponds. There is also plenty of water fowl, including moorhen, coots, tufted ducks, gadwell to name but a few.

I’ve also been out cutting down trees. It may seem an odd thing to be doing, but in fact we were clearing part of a copse that had encroached on to a chalk meadow, so while reducing one habitat we were hopefully opening up another, and bringing in more butterflies. There have been several tree planting sessions as well which will off set the cutting down of a few older and some dead trees.

James Cooke