What kind of animal could this be?

[travelbug]

I came home this evening right after dark. There is a patch of snow left by my front sidewalk. I could see a round shape in the middle of the patch, so I got a flashlight to look closer. Something had dug around on the surface of my lawn, gathering thatch. It had built a perfectly rounded mound, like half a basketball. It was about 10" in diameter and about 6-8 inches high. I've never seen anything like it before. It wasn't there this morning when I left for work, so it was built just today.

I got my neighbor to come and take a look. He scooped up the mound with a shovel and there was nothing inside. It was pretty solid with thatch, not hollow. He suggested that I try spraying the area with a hot sauce/water mix to see if the animal might leave the area. I thought, why not? As I was spraying, something small scurried in and out of the edges of the snow patch. It moved so quickly that I couldn't make out the shape.

I tried to Google search what it could be, but I was having a hard time putting in good search words to get anywhere.

Any ideas?? It was kind of creepy, to tell you the truth.

 

[mickeywho?]

I would say a vole. We get them nearly every winter....

 

[travelbug]

I would say a vole. We get them nearly every winter....

Hmm, I did find a dead vole on my lawn about 4-5 years ago, but somehow I thought voles usually stayed underground. I'll have to look it up online. Have you ever seen a structure like what I described?

 

[mickeywho?]

That definitely sounds like a nice cosy winter home it's made for itself!

They make tracks through the top layer of grass - can be quite a web if you have a few of them. With the snow as it's roof - it being exposed now that spring is melting everything away. The snow was probably also covering the cosy home too.

Moles will dig holes and travel under the grass - voles tend to stay on the ground but can do just as much damage. If you planted any bulbs in the fall he was well fed this winter!

We don't usually see them once the snow is gone - at least not until the next winter - and there isn't much you can do to stop them from coming back!

 

[travelbug]

Thanks, mickeywho? I did look up voles, but couldn't find anything about an above ground structure like what I saw. It was perfectly sculpted with no loose thatch sticking out anywhere. Amazing.

Anybody else have any thoughts?