UK Conservation Status: RED

Bank voles are a small vole of mature deciduous and mixed woodlands, parks and gardens. Similar in size to a mouse they are chestnut-brown above and have a white belly. Their tails, at about half their head and body length, are shorter than those of mice and they have rounder faces and smaller ears.

The bank vole is quite similar to the greyer field vole (Microtus agrestis) which has shaggier fur and an even shorter tail. Both are common but are classed Least Concern on the Red List, with around 27 million bank voles in Britain. Generally, the bank vole’s habits mean it is seen more often.

Bank voles eat leaves, seeds and fruits (such as apples and blackberries); in winter they will eat dead leaves. They will climb in search of food but lack the agility of mice. Sometimes they take insects and worms and even eggs of ground nesting birds. They will take food from or around bird tables.

Active day and night, all year round, they are prey to species like red fox, tawny owl and kestrel. Unsurprisingly, ample ground cover is characteristic of their preferred habitat. They further guard against predation by developing a network of long, branching burrows, including burrows just beneath the leaf litter. Bank voles typically live between 6 and 18 months and rarely more than two years.

Breeding starts in April; during the five-month breeding season up to four or five litters may be born in a shallow burrow. They will make round grassy nests above ground level if the ground is too hard to dig. Numbers rise during the year and peak in the early autumn.