The water vole, a ‘red list’ species with a 90 per cent decline in numbers over the last 30 years, has been spotted in Osbaldwick Beck.
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Since 2018 and in partnership with the Environment Agency and City of York Council, local conservation charity St Nicks has been restoring Osbaldwick Beck as part of York Urban Becks project.
The aim of the restoration is to return the beck to a more natural state and encourage its long-lost wildlife to return, and they say the hard work’s starting to pay off.
Sightings of water voles in the stretch of beck running through Hull Road Park have been reported over the past few years, but there’s been no recorded evidence to back them up — until now.
Miranda Dunstan, green corridors ecology officer at St Nicks said: “After our trap camera successfully captured footage of hedgehogs, I was keen to see if we could strike the same luck with a water vole – especially as we’d just had two sightings reported.
“As I scrolled through video of mallards and moorhens, my heart jumped as I spotted the distinctive shape and swimming style of a water vole! These sweet little mammals face so many threats, so it’s heartening to think we’ve helped create the right sort of habitat for them to feed, shelter and raise their young — right here in an urban park.”
Birds like herons and little egrets are now seen regularly around the beck, and a reed warbler was recently heard — another first for the area. Otters are also frequent visitors (their prints can be seen along the muddy ledges, and they’ve been captured on the trap camera), but the presence of the elusive and threatened water vole is Osbaldwick Beck’s biggest wildlife win since the restoration work began.
Hull Road councillor John Moroney said: “We had suspected that water voles had visited the beck, so to finally have proof is just brilliant.
“Congratulations to everyone involved in restoring a local environment where our much-loved, but highly endangered water vole can start to thrive. Amazing news for wildlife and for York.”
Caleb Pell, volunteer and local resident, said: “I am delighted to hear that water voles have made themselves at home in the beck. These beautiful creatures will help manage the waterways, bringing even more wildlife with them and helping mitigate against future flooding. As a frequent user and volunteer at Hull Road Park, I am encouraged that the hard work of so many is bearing fruit. Residents of Tang Hall and the wider York area will benefit from both a healthier ecosystem and a more vibrant, naturally managed Beck. I look forward to what we might find next.”
He said the work on and around Osbaldwick Beck also benefits the community.
He said that since 2020, St Nicks and local volunteers have removed approximately 16 tonnes of rubbish and large fly-tipped items, recycling much of it and ‘ensuring the beck’s no longer treated as a dumping ground’.