Harvestman at Large
Water vole takeaway
After a day teaching primary school children about beetles and spiders, I went to Magor Marsh to unwind.
The voles have learned new tricks. They have learned to get fruit and veg off the spikes on the feeding platforms. Some chew things free, some wrestle with them to pull them free, others wriggle under them and push them up off the spikes. Then they carry off their prize. I suppose it beats sharing.
Anyway, someone had put a carrot on each platform, and this vole got it off more or less intact. It had enormous difficulty though. It nearly sank under the weight when swimming, and couldn't get it into a hole no matter how it tried. Eventually it retired to some dense reed and just ate the carrot above ground. What a meal that must have made.
Water vole takeaway
After a day teaching primary school children about beetles and spiders, I went to Magor Marsh to unwind.
The voles have learned new tricks. They have learned to get fruit and veg off the spikes on the feeding platforms. Some chew things free, some wrestle with them to pull them free, others wriggle under them and push them up off the spikes. Then they carry off their prize. I suppose it beats sharing.
Anyway, someone had put a carrot on each platform, and this vole got it off more or less intact. It had enormous difficulty though. It nearly sank under the weight when swimming, and couldn't get it into a hole no matter how it tried. Eventually it retired to some dense reed and just ate the carrot above ground. What a meal that must have made.