help with photographing field voles

[nicholi]

i would like to photograph field voles but i do not have a garden and I'm not sure of how to go about it. do you lovely members have any ideas/tips for me

thank you

 

[den]

Hi Nicholas, When i first started to bait field mice and voles for food for my little owl project i tried all sorts of methods but i then managed by accident to find something that attracted them, i know you want to photograph them and not bait them but it could still work,when i purchase live mealworms i put them in a tub with rolled oats (food for the mealworm and insulation in winter) when i was putting the mealworms out for the birds their was always a scattering of oats that always ended up on the floor and i found that sitting in my hide waiting for the bird i spotted voles and mice had been attracted to the oats ,and i would always see at least one ,sorry for going on but basicaly what you could do is find a area not far from you thats cat free and pretty quite and basicaly try to bait them ,its amazing what turns up,you may have to spend some time keep going back and hoping you spot signs that they have been but it can be done , its all about food association with the area you pick...no doubt someone could help with a better food source for attracting them ,but my left over oats certainly worked .

 

[nicholi]

Never really thought about baiting them. i have a piece of land that i can use so i think I'm going to be baiting some voles and trying to persuade them into photographic positions so do you bait voles to get more owls in your area????

 

[den]

Hi, no I don't bait the voles to attract more owls, I buy my mice from a good reptile food company for my little owls ,as said I found that the overspill of oats over a period of time attracted them,but you never know the owls may have found their are a lot more field mice and voles around .