BIRDWATCH AT ARUNDEL WILDLIFE AND WETLANDS TRUST

Did you delve into the pages of Kenneth Grahame's enchanting stories and meeting those immortal characters from Wind in the Willows?

Looking out of my window at home I see evidence of Moley, still busy burrowing his way across the lawn (much to the dismay of my husband, who prides himself on perfect stripes and flat grass) and just the other night I rescued a tiny young toad from the kitchen.

However, there is one of Grahame's heroes that I have not seen in the wild for many years, even though the riverbanks used to ring with their familiar 'plop' as they dropped into the water.

'Ratty' the water vole (Arvicola terrestris) is commonly mistaken for a rat. With a round body, brown and shaggy coat, a blunt nose, short furry tail, small ears and weighing up to 320 grams, he is the largest of the vole family in Britain and he is in danger of being lost from our riverbanks forever.

Once a common species, the water vole has suffered a massive drop in population over the last 60 years.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette August 8