Tracks of a vole in the snow (c) Duncan Hutt
Mole hills in the snow (c) Duncan Hutt
As the snow carpets the area it’s a great time to look for animal activity. A check on the sheep at Prestwick Carr gave the opportunity to see what else, other than sheep, had been wandering around. The clear white surface of freshly fallen snow was pock-marked with brown mole hills, the activity of seeking out worms goes on below the surface whatever the weather.
Fox track (c) Duncan Hutt
There were actually relatively few other tracks to be seen though a fox had wandered, apparently randomly, across the field. In one place a much tinier set of prints indicated where a vole had scampered over the surface. A few unknown bird tracks and, of course, sheep trails were also to be seen. More snow has fallen since then so everything will have been wiped clean again, each morning revealing the activity of the night before.
The sheep themselves were fine, they are hill sheep so the few centimetres of snow weren’t going to bother them.
There were molehills sticking up through the snow in the field below the house yesterday.. I wish I knew more about animal and bird tracks. We had a wren and a chaffinch feeding on the crumbs and sunflower seeds that I’d scattered on the tiles of the verandah.