IN recent weeks, I have driven to various parts of this region and have been surprised at the number of molehills both in fields and along roadside verges. In several open fields, the distinctive heaps of new earth were so close together as to prevent any other creature (or human activity) from inhabiting that particular field – large beasts like humans, cows and horses might even sink a foot into a mole run and cause themselves an injury. Heavy machinery might also be at risk.

We all know how gardeners and greenkeepers react when molehills appear on carefully tended lawns, cricket fields, grass tennis courts, bowling greens, golf courses, football pitches and so forth. The immediate response is one of anger, dismay and revenge, but at that stage, it’s no good chasing moles by using one’s own limited skills – professional mole-catchers are needed, by which time the damage has usually been done, sometimes to the roots of growing crops.

One curious development within the mole fraternity is their desire to live near busy roads and motorways, where they present their distinctive molehills for us all to ponder upon as they go about secretive business underground.

Many of us recognise molehills even if we have never seen a mole.

So why do moles spend so much time, especially in late winter and early spring, digging tunnels so close to our dangerous roads, where other beasts and birds come to grief? The simple act of crossing a busy road, especially at night when the lights of vehicles are dazzling, is dangerous even to fleet-footed creatures like foxes, deer, hares, and rabbits but also to slower moving creatures like badgers, hedgehogs – and moles.

Quite surprisingly, many moles do attempt road crossings on tarred surfaces, probably due to the roads’ foundations obstructing their underground routes, and so they are killed or severely maimed by fast-moving vehicles. Nature’s bonus is that such corpses provide much needed food for a range of predators such as crows, magpies and even foxes, all sufficiently fast-moving and clever enough to keep clear of danger.

There appears to be another reason why moles spend so much time and effort in living on road verges or even in nearby fields. Central reservations are also popular with moles because moles realise their homes in such places are not likely to be ploughed or otherwise disturbed in such a privileged and safe location. Some may reach the central reservations via underground tunnels, but others may risk a journey across the surface at night when things are quiet. That’s always risky to any mole, however daring.

One reason for their interest in roads and motorways is that the vibrations of moving traffic send worms towards the surface where they are easily caught by active moles. Fisherfolk, when hunting worms, have learned this trick too; they walk over lawns and fields at night, sometimes with a torch, an act that draws worms to the surface for easy capture. It also seems blackbirds have learned that trick. You’d think the poor old worms themselves would also have learned their lesson – but not yet!

Another curious fact is that moles have realised that roads lead to other places, and so they move along the verges, invariably underground and in safety, to find new locations in which to settle. This avoids the danger of crossing busy thoroughfares and it also enables mole colonies to develop in pastures new and safe. Very large colonies are sometimes known as fortresses.

While moles do cause harm to cultivated areas such as sports fields, gardens and farmland, they also provide channels which help to drain away surplus water while also aerating the soil, especially in peaty places and areas that are prone to being waterlogged. This means that moles are both a blessing and a curse, but they do seem to have peaks and troughs in their behaviour. For long periods, there is no outward sign of their presence, then suddenly, as is the case this year, our verges and fields are full of molehills.

If my observations are correct, then this is one of those busy mole years. Whether it signals expansion in the mole populations is open to debate – numbers might be the same, but with busier individuals.

Not everyone has experienced the pleasure of handling or even seeing a live mole. It is a small creature about six inches long (15cm) and is supremely designed for living and working underground. It resembles a long, fat, black sausage with a tail and hind legs at one end and a sharp-nosed face above shovel-like paws at the other. Those paws are immensely powerful and enable it to dig tunnels through the ground, disposing of the surplus on the surface in the familiar mounds.

Many believe moles are blind but in fact they have a pair of tiny eyes which are capable of little more than distinguishing light from darkness, and they find their way around underground by using sensitive whiskers and sensors on the nose and a short, upright tail which is also sensitive. It can run backwards as well as forwards in its narrow tunnels.

Those tight-fitting tunnels enable it to keep its velvety fur clean and in good condition as it squeezes along them, and although most moles are coloured black, there are white, silver and apricot-coloured varieties. Here in the North, they are often known as mouldiwarps, from an old Danish word meaning earth-thrower. This name differs slightly in various parts of Yorkshire, ranging from maudiwarp, mowdywarp, muldwarp and sometimes mowdyrat.

It was often abbreviated to mowdy, with molehills being called mowdy-hills or merely mowdies, while a special rake for spreading molehills was known as a mowdy-raak.

Some years ago, I received a letter from a warrener and mole-catcher who, while working on a farm near our village, caught a beautiful golden mole, a colour he had never previously encountered among moles.

His research on the internet identified a species known as Juliana’s Golden Mole but this handsome little creature lives in Africa and it is doubtful if one would be living wild in this region. Juliana’s Golden Mole has cinnamon-brown fur that is slightly darker towards the back and paler towards the flanks.

There is no doubt this African mole is remarkably similar to the one found by my earlier correspondent. His mole had a reddish-brown head, paler shoulders and fur that changed to a warm silver-grey towards the rear. Even though the African mole is not thought to be related to our British species, the similarities are striking. Not surprisingly, the beautiful velvety fur of moles was popular as trimming for hats and coats.

As recently as the 1950s, mole-catchers earned good money by catching them and selling the skins for this use. Such a trade is no longer viable and may be illegal.