Subject: [Tweeters] small rodent burrow I.D. help sought
Date: Apr 27 09:32:19 2007
From: Kelly McAllister - mcallisters4 at comcast.net


I wish I could offer a solid opinion. Descriptions, in journals, field
guides, and technical manuals, of the fossorial habits of Pacific Northwest
small mammals are poor. There's quite a bit of information on our three mole
species, pocket gophers, and mountain beavers but virtually nothing to
indicate that any other native species, west of the Cascades, burrow into
the earth. I've found some descriptions of Creeping Voles (Microtus oregoni)
burrowing but nothing to indicate that any of the other vole species burrow
into the soil.

At Crockett Lake, on Whidbey Island, I recently saw numerous open holes in
ground, about the size you describe. No mounds, just holes. I found, under a
board, an adult Townsend's Vole with furred young. I wondered if the
Townsend's Voles might be burrowing in the vast grassland along the margins
of the lake. At McChord Air Force Base, Sanders Freed and I put pitfall
traps into mole runs and covered them with sheet metal and sod to prevent
ingress from surface dwellers. We caught shrew-moles, creeping voles, deer
mice, a Townsend's Mole, and vagrant shrews. It appeared that quite a few
small mammals use mole burrow systems. Northeast of Olympia I looked at the
immaculately manicured yard of a couple living in a development off Marvin
Road. In their beauty bark were number small holes that plunged deeply into
the ground, only about an inch in diameter. I never found the time to do
some trapping to figure out what animals were creating these burrows.

This has been a curiousity of mine for some time. I suspect that several
species of vole may burrow more often than the literature suggests. However,
maybe I'm wrong. What are the other candidates? Shrew-moles? They're
supposed to be largely confined to burrowing in loose duff.

Kelly McAllister
Olympia, Washington





----- Original Message -----
From: "Stewart Wechsler" <ecostewart at quidnunc.net>
To: "tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 7:39 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] small rodent burrow I.D. help sought


> No, not birds, just bird food:
>
> Anyone out there familiar with western Washington small rodent burrow
> patterns that can suggest what species may have made them?
>
> I'm working on a native habitat enrichment project in North Bend in east
> King county in the alluvial plain of the Snoqualmie River just at the Base
> of the Cascade Mts. Around one old cedar stump there is an area with
> numerous holes maybe 2" in diameter with no visible piles of excavated
> dirt.
> I expect the area under the stump is a primary denning area. The are
> around
> the stump had been substantially bare dirt, but I don't know if the owner
> had cleared it or if animal activity was partly responsible. The site is
> in
> partially shaded by a few trees and shrubs, but also near a larger grassy
> area where I believe I had seen some more random holes.
>
> Any ideas who made the holes?
>
> Stewart Wechsler
> Ecological Consulting
> West Seattle
> 206 932-7225
> ecostewart at quidnunc.net
>
> -Advice on the most site-appropriate native plants
> and how to enhance habitat for the maximum diversity
> of plants and animals
> -Educational programs, nature walks and field trips
> -Botanical Surveys
>
>
>
> --
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