February 1, 2009 - Vole Runs

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

Concealed beneath winter white is a world rarely seen until melting snow provides a glimpse into this hidden realm. What lies beneath the snow are tunnels or runways made by a common rodent known as a meadow vole. That’s vole—v-o-l-e—not to be confused with mole—m-o-l-e. Voles build runways at ground level in tall grass. They feed on plants often chewing bark on shrubs and trees for nourishment in the winter. Since they are active mostly at night we rarely see them, that is unless a cat drops one on our doorstep. No wonder meadow voles stay hidden. These tiny herbivores fall prey to many animals—foxes and coyotes, hawks and owls, weasels, and others. Although we rarely see these tiny plant eaters, sometimes we can find signs that reveal their under snow activity.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.