When we moved here about 40 years ago, the hilly end of what is now Moore Meadow was covered in mole hills in the winter and brown with rabbits in the summer. In subsequent years, the mole hills appeared further and further west in the pasture, until they started appearing in what is now Gore Meadow. Then to my horror they started appearing in MY lawn (I live next door to Gore Meadow), and there were fewer and fewer east of me, in Moore Meadow.
A few years ago, moles started appearing in my two neighbours’ gardens – moving steadily west. Now they are appearing across the stream in Church Meadow. I am sure they haven’t swum across the stream, but how else did they get there?
It is always worth giving a mole hill a second glance - if you are very lucky, you will see the mound moving as the mole shovels up more earth from its tunnel – and if you are extremely lucky you will see his pink nose and fat little front feet.
Simon Ginnaw, who led our first BWT nature walk in May, told us that a very large molehill indicates a maternity chamber underneath it, whereas the normal sized ones are over connecting tunnels. Here is Claire Browne's photo of a very large molehill, taken in July 2016
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