Water vole survey of Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve - October 2011

Quality Control

There is a high degree of confidence - all signs were noted by experienced surveyors.

Method steps

1. All sections of watercourse with level ground or a gentle slope (<3% gradient) within the NNR were included in the survey. The banks of each watercourse were surveyed and signs of water vole activity were noted. Where access and water depth allowed, the search was conducted from the channel itself. Water vole signs separated by less than 200 m within one watercourse were considered to be within one colony, as adult males are known to have a home range of up to 200 m (Capreolus 2005; Sah 1998). Water vole habitat was assessed longitudinally as a series of contiguous survey sections. For the purposes of recording, habitat section breaks were inserted where the habitat type changed significantly. If habitat remained uniform section breaks were created approximately every 200 m. Each survey section was ranked in one of three categories: optimal (O), sub-optimal (SO) or unsuitable (US) water vole habitat.

The survey covered the SNH Beinn Eighe NNR property. Apart from a small side tributary of the Allt Coire an Laoigh that enters the Torridon River, all watercourses surveyed were within the River Ewe catchment.