Somewhat later than I had hoped my next, and last, entry in the River Anton Blog. The last year has been an amazing time for The Anton with so much work being completed in, on and alongside its course between the source and Rooksbury Mill. The creation of a new organisation, TARCA, will I hope go from strength to strength and attract many more locals who will enjoy looking after this wonderful river and the wildlife that lives along it.
For me the surveys have all finished and the data has been fed back to the wildlife trust. It will be a welcome break for the water voles, bats, otters and crayfish to have a bit of piece and quiet and not have humans peering into there private lives. I have learnt loads over the last 12 months and have some wonderful memories of not only the wildlife but of the times spent with the other volunteers and fulltime wildlife workers. How could I forget Louise straddling a faggot and missing the kingfisher that flew within inches of when we were on a crayfish survey, or Sarah getting attacked by a huge fish on a water vole survey.
My time in Andover is nearly over and as I prepare to move to Bristol and hopefully become a volunteer with the Avon wildlife trust I need to mention some people. To the other volunteers, in particular Steve, Aidan and Louise I hope you have enjoyed it as much as me and will carry on the surveying next year. To Jim and the members of TARCA -keep up the good work and all the best for the future. I wish I could have been a bigger part of the group. Finally a huge thank you to the Wildlife trust, in particular Sarah, for putting up with me and giving me all the opportunities over the summer.
Thank you all and maybe one day we’ll do it all again.
James Cooke

Well yet again Rooksbury and its wildlife have given me another wow morning. On Sunday morning I had a quick visit to Rooksbury and apart from a few dog walkers and the odd jogger Rooksbury was quiet. By the bridge at the end of the Mill lake by the sluice gate was some otter spraint the first I’ve seen for a while anywhere at Rooksbury. Standing on the next bridge over the river itself I soon spotted one and then two water voles up stream busily eating, cleaning, swimming and eating some more, in fact the things that water voles do best. Down stream I heard a rustle a nestled between the water-cress leaves was the smallest water vole I’ve seen in five years of surveying and monitoring. He was tiny but getting a picture of him proved very difficult as the water cress leaves seemed to be bigger than him. Then when I thought I wasn’t going to get a picture, three feet away from him in the open was his brother or sister. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

When I thought things couldn’t get any better, I walked up to the ponds and whoosh a king fisher flashed past me only a matter of feet away and then behind it a second, two brilliant blue arrows glistening in the early morning sun. I’m sure there was a third or even a forth king fisher as I kept seeing the pair and every now and then a single bird. My quick morning visit was now into its third hour.

The water vole survey season is now drawing to a close and Steve and I finished the last section at Rooksbury in the second week of September with a little help from Charlotte with mixed results plenty of droppings and burrows but no sightings. Louise and I have also been out checking the refugia for crayfish, but again all have been empty. Finally I’ve also carried out two more bat surveys with Aidan and Louise. On both nights we had plenty of activity with mainly the common pippestrelle but also a good mixture of other bats.

James Cooke

As we approach the end of August I thought it was time to put fingers to keys and type another entry for the blog. August has seen the start of the Wildlife Trusts Bat and Crayfish surveys. The first bat survey was on the 14 Aug in the centre of Andover. About 14 of us under the guidance of Sarah and Kate and equipped with bat detectors and clip boards staked out four locations between Asda’s and the City Mills pub. Between the four groups we saw and heard all five types of bat that we had seen on the training evening at Rooksbury. It’s amazing that with all the hustle and bustle of a Friday evening in Andover that these nocturnal creatures go about their business totally missed by the majority of the public. Unfortunately the group I was in, behind Asda’s, had the quietest of the four locations, but we did manage to spot one or two Pipistrelles. Further surveys are planned for the remainder of August and into September and we hope to be able to identify amongst other things where the bats are roosting.

The crayfish surveys are being carried out on the Anton to establish the range of the native white clawed and the American signal crayfish. As part of the training for these surveys we had to take part in water safety training day at the wildlife trusts HQ. This course taught us the current first aid for a drowning casualty, how to carry out risk assessments before entering the water and the dangers that we might face once in the river. The day finished in a local swimming pool where we practiced using the throw lines and then rescuing each other.
The surveys cover Anton Lakes and Rooksbury. No surprises that I, along with Louise, am covering Rooksbury. The training was held one evening in Mid August with Ben and Sarah from the Wildlife trust. Ben had already set 5 refugia, a type of artificial burrow, but all were empty so we never got to see a living specimen. The following week Louise and I set out to check Ben’s first 5 refugia and set another five. These artificial burrows are made up of 6 different sizes of tubing attached to a metal grid. As crayfish live in burrows during the day it is hoped they will make one of the tubes home. These are not traps which mean we don’t need to check them daily. Our third refugia held an American signal crayfish. It was duly measured and disposed of. The American crayfish like the Mink is a non-native species and also like the mink it’s causing huge damage to our river systems. The American crayfish are not only bigger than the native ones but they also carry a plague which kill the smaller white clawed variety. The finding of one American crayfish is bad news and will undoubtedly mean that we will find none of our native ones. After setting and marking the other five refugia we called it a night. Two weeks later we returned and found all 10 refugias empty. We will return in a week’s time and if they are still empty we will relocate some or all of them to other parts of Rooksbury.

The water vole surveys continue and I have also helped Sarah and some other volunteers at other sights across Hampshire. What a difference to the Anton. One stretch we covered had barely any sign of life apart from masses of mink tracks along each bank. It really shows what damage these creatures can cause killing all types of wildlife along the river bank. It’s not always so rosy at Rooksbury either, I’ve heard recently of a Heron catching a water vole.
Sarah, Louise Aidan and others have also being water vole surveying at Charlton lakes with positive signs not only for Ratty but otters as well.

James Cooke

Jess Latham- Warde

Rooksbury has provided me with another first, glow worms. On Friday night I attended the first of this years bat evenings. A training and refresher session for those of us that will be taking part in the bat surveys along the Anton in the next few months. In the capable hands of Sarah and Kate the bat expert a total of 15 of us were given the basics of bat identification and use of a bat detector. After the theory we had a leisurely walk around Rooksbury watching and listening to the bats as they came out of the roosts and started to feed in the trees and over the lakes and certain parts of the river. We identified the following 5 types, The Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, The Daubenton, The Serotine and The Noctule. Although seemingly impossible to distinguish the ticks, chips and tacks the bats made by the end of the evening it was possible to tell which was which and I think we all realised that with a bit more practice it wouldn’t be that hard to match the calls to the bats. To round off the evening we spotted the three glow worms beside the river above the bridge by the A303. The evening started off well as Sarah and I spotted a juvenile water vole happily munching on water cress by the second bridge. I then spotted another five water voles within twenty feet of each other all in the open and all happily eating water cress. Six water voles in twenty minutes is, I’m sure, a record. Of course I didn’t have my camera with me!!! I visited Rooksbury on the last two weekends and apart from seeing the ever increasing water vole population I saw, I’m pleased to say, a kingfisher on both occasions. Both sightings were the normal blur of red and blue darting along the river. But after an absence of several months it’s great to have these jewels back.
I completed a very successful water vole survey with Aidan last Wednesday along the river adjacent to the Mill. Although we didn’t spot any water voles we did find some evidence in the form of droppings, latrines and feeding remains as well as some otter tracks. We also spoke to some of the property owners along the river. It’s always a pleasure to speak to the people who live along the river as they see so much more. It’s also a good time to pass on information about what signs they might see which will let them know what is passing through there areas.
James Cooke

The number of water voles at Rooksbury is still increasing and they can be found in nearly every stretch of the river within the reserve. The area to the north of Mills Lake certainly has a couple of water voles and I’ve watched them on several occasions. It’s a very positive sign that they are spreading further away from the historical areas nearer to Barlows Lake. Steve and I surveyed that stretch of river from the old mill buildings up to the start of the houses and noted plenty of feeding stations, some foot prints plus a burrow or two.
The vegetation is still growing which is hampering our surveys at the moment by covering not only the banks but also a lot of the river as well. The water voles may be hidden a good deal of the time but they don’t always go unnoticed and we spotted several areas where the reeds or other undergrowth were shaking madly as the water voles settled down to a meal. We have three more surveys to complete at Rooksbury before we start surveying the stretch of River next to ASDAs.
My highlight of June was seeing my first wild otter, and to see it at Rooksbury made it doubly special. I had been at Rooksbury for a couple of hours and had spotted several water voles and was heading back to the car park. I had a final look in the ponds and noticed a large object flow down the inlet stream into the first pond. Not knowing what it was I wandered over but apart from the remaining ripples the pond was empty. Then a series of air bubbles appeared strung across the pond. These air bubbles are a sure sign that an otter is swimming under water and sure enough he surfaced briefly before diving under the water and vanishing. It was great to see this elusive animal and to see it in broad daylight was amazing and so un-expected.
Steve saw a Kingfisher on Tuesday evening near the bridge by the A303. This is the first time I’ve heard that these birds are back at Rooksbury since they disappeared in early Spring.
I saw this little chap on the “dead” section of the river by the Mill. But it’s not always peaceful and quiet at Rooksbury. On one of my visits I had a shock when I saw these two Swans fighting. I think a lone male must have tried his luck with the female from a pair and with the signets looking on the pair attacked the intruding male. The noise was bad enough but the ferocity of the attack was horrendous. At one point the female sat on the lone males back while her partner forced its head under the water. The fight lasted over 20 minutes before the lone male was eventually able to make his escape. All the swans seemed to come out of the encounter un-scathed and the peace of Rooksbury was once again reinstated.

James Cooke

On the 14th May I attended the first meeting of a new, and so far un-named, group of volunteers who will hopefully become a major part of the River Anton Enhancement Project. The group will initially be guided by Jim and Sarah, but importantly will be completely separate from either TVBC and the Wildlife Trust. The group will have its own funding, mainly from grants, and will comprise a small working committee and a host of volunteers, who in time, with some expert input, will carry out any work required and decide on the best way to maintain and improve the Anton. This is a huge and exciting project and will require lots of enthusiastic and willing volunteers for the group to succeed and see the Anton cared for by members of the public in Andover.

Of course the water voles on the Anton have kept me busy with more monitoring and more surveys. The population at Rooksbury continues to grow with many more sightings over the last few weeks. I’ve seen several water voles in the ponds, which is great news. I think they may have been there all winter and have kept a low profile. That colony is growing and there are now several new burrow entrances. The only place that doesn’t seem to have any water voles is the stream behind the ponds. Having said that there is so much vegetation on that stretch that there could be dozens of water voles but you would never see one. A good indication that a water vole is in dense vegetation is that you can hear them eating and biting through the grasses and reeds. Quite often there appears to be a huge battle going on, with a small clump of reeds shaking madly before one reed is pulled down and the munching starts.
The water voles seem to be fairing well along the whole of the Anton. Sarah spotted one near Asda’s and I’ve also seen droppings and a burrow entrance at Anton Lakes.
Sarah held a water vole survey training day at the start of May, and during the practical part of the day at Rooksbury found some otter spraint at one of the entrances of the holt we built earlier in the year. It’s fantastic news and another spot I will regularly check for more spraint.

Highlight of the month was seeing my first baby water vole at Rooksbury. Just a few inches long he or she was feeding with an adult by one of the bridges a great moment.
The Great Crested Grebe’s that had two tiny chicks riding on the back of one of the adults, now have two large chicks following the adults. A Mallard family I saw last week with eight chicks is down to only three chicks this week, but they are getting quite large as well. There are several moorhens with chicks in tow as well at the moment. I’ve also seen my first Damselflies of the year mainly blue and black striped Southern Damselflies.

James Cooke

What better way to spend a bank holiday weekend than at watching some wildlife. I had two visits to Rooksbury over the weekend a saw some fantastic sights. Rooksbury itself is beautiful at this time of year as I hope this photo of Barlows lake shows taken just before 8 am on Saturday. The trees look fabulous with all the fresh leaves and buds.

There are a number of baby birds around including at least two Great Crested Grebe chicks riding piggy back on one of the parents while the other parent dives for food before resurfacing and passing the food to the chicks. Taking a break from the water vole surveys gave me a chance to watch patently for any movement. On Saturday morning I saw three and then on Monday I saw six. At last, a sighting of a water vole in the ponds. I’ve noticed a number of fresh burrow entrances over the last few weeks but no other signs of ratty. Then on Monday a large bunch of grasses on the bank started to rustle and shake uncontrollably a sure sign that a water vole was about. First his blunt nose and then the rest of his body slid out from the grass’s down the bank and into the water, his mouth pulling three or four long lengths of grass along. He dived down with lunch or bedding only to reappear and climb back to the long grasses and take another three or four blades back under the water moments later. He did this four more times. I expected him to carry on now obviously taking bedding to the burrow rather than lunch, but instead of taking more grass he started to swim across the pond. Startled he dived down and in the shallow clear water I could see him not swimming but running along the bottom of the pond, leaving a trail in the mud, his fur glistening silver as trapped air bubbles in his fur caught the sunlight like jewels. He disappeared into a burrow on the other bank, but it was an amazing site to see him so clearly under water. I spotted the same or may be another water vole at the opposite end of that pond later in the morning, as well as three between the two bridges by the carpark and droppings on the Anton above the mill. Another water vole had me laugh out loud as it felled three tall and thick reeds. Each reed must have been well over a foot high but this little fellow made light work of cutting them and moving them to the waters edge, before having a break to eat some more manageable smaller vegetation.
I hadn’t realised but there may have been up to 5 kingfishers at Rooksbury over the winter but sadly they all seem to have moved to pastures new for the summer, I certainly haven’t seen one for over a month now."

James Cooke