Bank Voles along the Lower River Shannon, Co Limerick.

Bank Voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) along the Lower River Shannon, June 2019. They are not a native-species - they were introduced to Ireland in the 1920s during work on the Shannon hydroelectric scheme. Large machinery for this development was shipped from ports in the north of Germany to Foynes on the river Shannon and some other Irish ports. The machinery was then transported to Ardnacrusha for use in the hydroelectric scheme. The Bank Vole appears to have landed at Foynes and then after some time adapting to its new home there, spread throughout county Limerick and parts of north Kerry. Irish bank Voles have very low genetic variation suggesting that the founder population consisted of few individuals. There is also a close relationship between the Irish and German sequences, showing that Irish voles are part of the western European phylogeographical lineage.

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Wonderful capture and filming.

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