Blundering around inside
a reedbed is all in a normal day’s work for a Grumpy Ecologist, usually ending
up thoroughly wet and ‘bloodied’ with reed-cuts. The subtle variations of reed height and
density, and the water depth, provide a guide to the location of the reedy constructions
of some of the reedbed inhabitants.
Water Voles can be
extremely common in wet reedbeds, with latrines and feeding stations every
couple of metres. One of the less
frequently mentioned signs of Water Voles is the ‘Vole Mansion’ (above photo) but deep inside
reedbeds these constructions can be very numerous. The neat ball of woven reed strips is slung
within a reed framework and under a loose reedy roof, the supporting reeds
trimmed off with a typical Water Vole bite.
They are often provided with a reed ramp access down to an outside
latrine. The whole mansion is around 25
cm high and 20 cm in width.
The Water Rail nest is a
neat cup, about 15 cm across, of woven reed.
Built just above water level, this one was in 35 cm of water depth and typically
built just above water level. Most Water
Rail nests seem to have a covering reed ‘canopy’; this one (below) is open, however it
was located in tall (240 cm) and dense reed (360 stems/m2).
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