At last winter bites

At last the sharp teeth of Winter begin to bite. Snow is forecast for the next few days. For the first time this season the streams have begun to freeze over and the frost has penetrated deep into the ground. The air is dry and the wind scorches the skin, taking the temperature down to -3ºF or -4ºF. Today has been a bright crisp day nonetheless so I returned to the beach area beneath the road bridge to take plaster casts of one or two of the otter paw prints I found yesterday.

A plaster cast of an otter paw print. Right foot possibly rear.

The cast shows just how large an otters paws are at 75mm long x about 65mm wide they are larger than a domestic cat and about the same size as a small dog. Clearly they are powerfully constructed both for foraging along the riverbed and for swimming.

The webbing between the toes spreading wide to produce four powerful paddled to push the animal through the water. One otter expert James Williams of the Somerset Otter Trusts suggests that on river otters you often don't see any indications of claws because they spend so much time scrabbling about along the river bank and in the stones and debris of the river bed that their claws often get worn down so they are not very apparent. This is certainly true of many of the prints I observe in my own area where the river banks are steep and the river beds very stoney indeed.

Just to make the print that much clearer i've marked it here
as well part of another print from one of the other paws which
is less distinct

Whilst under the bridge I explored both banks of the river and discovered prints and spraint in abundance, especially on the right bank. This could be another good place to set up a camera but once again its quite a public location so whether i can risk it or try to disguise the camera I'm not sure. I'll have to keep my camera location options open for the time being.

The day did finish much warmer than it started and a short walk along the river did not yield any new information. It is much harder to identify new activity in freezing conditions, one can't tell if sprint is fresh or not if it freezes before you discover it. It does make you wonder what effect cold conditions might have on the activity of the otters. For the most part I'm sure their activity does not change that much, they are used to cold conditions having such a broad range across europe and asia. However river otters may change their hunting patterns perhaps if the more minor channels and tributaries freeze over. They may perhaps keep to the larger channels and main river ways which are much less likely to ice up. Also really cold weather will certainly have an effect on the amount of time they can spend in the water and the speed at which they can recover body temperature when out of it.

The sunset this evening was beautiful with the pale browns and yellowed of the meadow suffused with the vivid salmon pink warmth of the setting winter sun. For the first time in a long while i watched as a ghostly white barn owl quartered its way across the meadow quickly switching direction then almost falling from the sky on to some unsuspecting meal below. I watched this glorious spectacle for about twenty minutes as the owl continued to sweep back and forth on silent wings ever watchful for prey hidden in the long flaming orange grass.

It always a magical moment when you see such a beautiful creature in the wild. Its movement and dangerous delicacy is always spellbinding. The winged angel of death comes silently and suddenly and vanishes like a spectre into the darkening sky.