Mother and Pup!

I thought I'd posted this footage a while ago but apparently not! This film footage was captured in June 2013 using a remote camera set up beneath a small bridge under which the Otters had previously sprainted on a regular basis.

On this occasion I was lucky enough to capture two Ottters presumably a mother with a single pup or two pups. It would be unusual to see two adult Otters together like this.

A great sight but since that time the water levels have been so high i've not been able to gain access to the bridge to follow up on this sighting.

Summer 2012 in the Hebrides - not so bad after all

2012 wasn't all bad, appart from being horrendously busy we did escape to the Scottish Islands in the summer and had a great time. Even the weather was OK.

Of course the Scottish Islands are a great place to Otter Watching since the otters a tied to the coastline for the most part and their routine is, to a great extent, dictated by the ebb and flow of the tides. This means they are visible by day unlike their southern cousins. We stayed on Arran for a week then moved on to Islay but it was on Arran that I had some of the best Otter encounters I've ever had. Sadly I didn't take the expensive camera lens I had planned to hire much to my disappointment because I think I would have been able to get some really good shots. So, apologies in advance for the not so good photography.

This was a fantastic encounter with three young pups and their mother. I was lucky enough to be able to watch them for extended times early in the morning almost every day. A few times the midges became utterly unbearable but its surprising what you can put up with when you are totally absorbed by watching the antics of the pups as the fished just meters away from me.

They are remarkably tactile creatures and crave the close contact of the other siblings and the mother although she would usually keep her distance trying to encourage the youngsters to fend for themselves. Out in the sea they would often swim almost on top of each other and dive in unison to catch fish which they usually ate there and then.

The pups fishing out at sea - just about to dive again

Two of the pups swimming together as they approach the shore just metres 

from where i'm hidden behind a rock.

Coming ashore to eat a particularly large fish

Resting on the rocks

The three pups come ashore to dry off and sprint

A slightly poor image of one of the pups in the act of sprainting.

One a couple of occasions the mother and her pups were much less visible but i think this was probably due to the presence of a large dog otter that appeared on two occasions patrolling along the coast line. I followed him for quite some way before he vanished around a headland. He moved at quite a pace and i found it quite had to keep pace with him. He was much more wary however so I had to duck out of sight and try to keep up wind from him in order not to be detected. Needless to say i think he usually knew I was there and he never let me get too close.

On Islay I didn't get to see any otters but I tracked them extensively along the small bays and wide beaches. In one location i even followed a set of tracks all the way to watch looked like a holt hidden in the grassy tussocks of a sand dune.

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The fresh clean sand on a beach early in the morning clearly shows the otters of Islay are just as active as those on Arran. Such a clear impression too.

2012 - The great Flood, What a Washout!

The majority of last year was a disaster in terms of Otter Watching. At least it was down here in hampshire. The water levels were so high in our local rivers that the usual tracks and signs one might expect to see on a regular basic just weren't there. The rain fell almost constantly which mean't that any signs were simple washed away.

Otters are very mobile creatures and I guess they made the most out of the ever changing conditions but it really wasn't until winter when a few obvious signs returned. Snow is great because all that nighttime activity which usually goes unnoticed is writ large on the ground for all to see. Of course you have to get up ready early before its all brushed away by other people or their dogs.

Otters appear to enjoy jumping and rolling about in
the snow. Here you can clearly see how the otter has
bounded along and rolled about prior to jumping back
into the river to the top of the frame.

Really clear set of distinctive otter tracks along a path previously devoid
of all traces of Otter activity.

Otters vanish from view

I've not posted anything since the end of March 2012. This is largely due to the fact that all signs of the Otters, so active over the winter months, have all but vanished. I have occasionally observed the odd spraint here and there but other than these few indications its as if the Otters have either moved on or simply vanished from the landscape.

The weather has obviously been a real problem this year. Following a really dry spell at the beginning of the year, triggering nationwide drought conditions and very early hosepipe bans in many areas, it seems to have rained non stop for months.

What effect this might have on Otters I'm not totally sure however it may well make fishing more challenging as most rivers in the UK are in spate. They are running much faster and are now much deeper than usual this could well make fishing more difficult. Raising young must also be more difficult since teaching youngsters to swim and catch prey in such adverse conditions will also be much more difficult. So too will be finding good holts that are both warm and dry for some protection from the relentless rain.

In addition I think its true that Otters need to spend large amounts of time out of the water getting dry to maintain their body temperature. Since the atmospheric temperatures have also been much lower than usual perhaps this too has been more difficult. Maintaining the condition of their fur such an important element in their hunting must be very difficult.

In Early April I did manage to identify a new area which showed lots of Otter activity and I took a few photos of the area as a record. Its a small ditch really which crosses an area of meadow used to graze cattle and sheep. I guess the ditch must have been dug centuries ago to drain the meadow. It provides a great highway for the Otters since it is clothed in brambles and low trees as well as tall reeds which make it an ideal place to hunt and stay out of sight.

The ditch overhung by low trees and brambles

Spraint on top of a metal beam that spans the ditch between two fields

I also found spraint atop this likely looking log. 

Spraint on the log

Early Morning Sightings

The days are definitely getting longer now and day is inexorably swallowing up the night as we move headlong into spring. You always know when spring has arrived when you see the great mounds of gelatinous frogs spawn that seem to magically appear in ponds and slow flowing streams.

Frog Spawn in a static puddle of water

For the otter the increasingly short cover of night must mean that either their hunting periods must be more intense under the cover of darkness or that their hunting period is pushed ever closer to the margins between night and day.

With this in mind I set off very early this boring at around 5:30am on the off chance that I might happen across the otter in the southern part of the river where the activity over the last few months has been more intense. There was some daylight but this was tempered by a low hung mist that clung tightly to the rivers and streams washing the landscape with the watery, indistinct palette of a Turner watercolour.

At first there was very little other than the small group of there or four Roe Deer that frequent the meadows on either side of the river. Not even a Barn Owl or Fox to be seen. That said the fresh cool air and quite stillness more than compensates for any lack of wildlife. I think I did briefly catch a glimpse of a Water Vole as it dived beneath the water and disappeared in the smokey mists that creeping over the surface of the water.

Continuing along the river to check out the usual sites I then rounded a bend in the river only spot some way off and thankfully not hidden by the mist the unmistakable shape of an otter making its way down stream directly towards me. What a stroke of luck! My first instinct was to just sit and watch it pass by but i remembered - for once - that I had my compact camera in my pocket, just in case, so whipped it out to capture a couple of frames as the otter swam by.

The otter swims close to the river bank and dives occasionally to 

forage for food

Now I have to apologise in advance for the poor quality but you have to remember its about 5:50am and the light levels are pretty low. Not only that but the mist is making things doubly difficult. That said you can still see that the otter is quite unperturbed by my presence and I followed it along the river as it continued to drive every 20-30seconds foraging in the nock and crannies of the riverbank, no doubt trying to flush out some tasty morsel.

Not such a clear photo but the chocolate brown fur is unmistakeably

On this occasion I followed the otter along the river for about 200m, it didn't seem especially bothered by my presence and continued to behave quite naturally I think. Eventually it made its way over to a small shrubby willow that overhangs the river and disappeared beneath it. I did see it reappear briefly on the other side but it quickly dived and disappeared into the thicket again. After a minute or so it did start to call with its familiar staccato whistling call which was great to hear but it didn't last too long and I lost sight and sound altogether. Otters use these calls to communicate with one another so its possible that there could be a breeding pairs or perhaps even a mother with cubs in the locality. Its also said that if cubs are about it may be more likely to see otters in daylight, so you never know.

Spring has arrived

At last you can smell spring in the air. There is a tangible sense of excitement all around as the buds begin to burst and the birds sing and dance in anticipation of the urgent need to reproduce. Along the waterways you can now se the first shoots of reed and other riparian plants beginning to show. Soon the streams and rivers I have been exploring so easily over the winter will become hidden by tall reed beds and grasses.

As the days lengthen the otter has to contend with shorter hours of darkness so it might be possible now to get a glimpse - if i'm lucky - either early in the morning or just before dusk as these otherwise nocturnal animals have to patrol their territories more frequently on the cusp of night and day.

This morning I set off just before 6am to collect my two remote cameras and to see if there was any wildlife about. As usually there was plenty of birdlife, this winter has been kind so there are lots of small birds around. There was very little else however and certainly no otters. However I was lucky enough to get just a brief glimpse of a Water Rail one of the more secretive wetland birds. They are much easier to see in the winter when he vegetation has died right back but in the summer next to impossible to find because the inhabit the dark noks and crannies at the very base of the tall reed beds and tangled vegetation along river banks.

I had moved both my cameras to the same location just beneath a small footbridge where i'd managed to capture some good footage last time I posted. Once again the otter had returned and I'd managed to capture two more good sequences.

This clip was recorded at 03:25 on 4th March 2012. If you look carefully you can see
the otter sprainting on the bricks.

This clip was recorded at 19:13 on 9th March 2012. Something has taken the otters

interest just above its sprinting brick. Again you can clearly see it sprinting.

This small bridge has been a really good location to capture footage of the otter in action. It has visited this location quite reliably. I moved both cameras to this location to see if i could capture the otter leaving the area to see where it went since above this bridge I've found no physical evidence of otter activity. The second camera yielded no footage at even on the same evening (the 9th) when both were operating less than 15ft apart. I'm beginning to wonder if this bridge actually marks the boundary of this otters territory, which would explain why there have been no physical signs above this point. This idea might be supported by the fact that in both sequences you can see the otter clearly turn round and go back the way it came. Despite the fact that there is a perfectly good river beyond this bridge this otter appears not to explore beyond this point. 

I think what I might do is try to locate a camera so that it either covers the entire bridge this way it might be easier to establish whether the otter does in fact turn round or not.

Lengthening days and disrupted cameras

At last there is a perceptible lengthening in daylight hours as we move slowly towards spring. The sun began to rise this morning at around 6:30am and dusk didn't arrive until 5:30pm. For months the day seems to begin reluctantly, the sun rising ever so slowly as if waking from a heavy night out on the other side of the world. Then quite suddenly, it seems to rise and set more quickly as if in a hurry for urgent spring to arrive.

Yesterday I set out along the southern part of the valley where there seems to be much more otter activity. I've moved one of my cameras to see if I can capture some footage of the otter leaving the river by the sluice gate where I'd seen spraint very close to the public footpath.

There were a number of new spraints visible but unfortunately none near the camera so I didn't disturb it and moved on down the river. Just a little further on a spotted the iridescent back of a kingfisher skimming low just above the water as it followed every twist and turn of the river course.

Later in the day I returned to the river to walk the dog. This time as I rounded the corner on my approach to the sluice gate I noticed workmen busily installed a barrier just at the point where I'd installed the camera. I was sure they must have seen the camera but rather than draw attention to it I passed on by and resolved to return later to check that it hadn't been disturbed. It feels terribly clandestine putting up the cameras and trying to keep there location secret but this is essential to ensure that they are not stolen or interfered with.

I returned later in the day when there are fewer people about to check out whether the camera was ok or not. Of course the first thing i noticed was fresh otter spraint exactly in the location that confirmed that the otter had passed in front of the camera. The camera however wasn't in place and was lying, faced own in the mud- typical. I don't think the workmen had deliberately disturbed it, they had simply knocked it off the tree where I'd mounted it. Anyway it has become detached so I had to unhook it - which is a bit of a job - and decided to take it back home to make sure it was functioning properly. I resolved to try to return before dusk to reinstate it as soon as I could since the otter had passed through recently there was a chance it might come this way again so I had to move quickly to get it up and running again.

I've noticed this pattern in otter activity, sometimes you seem to get bursts of activity over several days where they appear to have a routine, exploring a small area and visiting the same sites over and over again. Then nothing. All activity seems to stop for days, even weeks, the animal just disappears. Maybe it just passes through stopping just briefly to spraint in slightly different locations or moves off to hunt in more fruitful locations.