Otter watching

[Rumi]

Theres a bit more on my blog.

Otters Range can be up to 40 km long and they have many laying up places and holts en route. They will also wander cross country to get to other lakes and water courses.

Otters breed all the year round and their choice on natal holt location is dependent on the presence of abundant food. I have located the natal holt for the breeding pair I have been observing, but they have now abandoned it and are out and on the move within their range with their parents. I have had reports of fights between otters earlier in the year from other people I know in the area.

Otters are mainly nocturnal, though it is likely you will see them in the early dawn and late dusk half light. I am in the process of setting up a cctv trail cam system so I can observe from a remote location.

 

[Rumi]

Well what a great couple of weeks. We had 10cm of snow, Ice 7cm thick with thin dustings of snow on top and otter tracks galore. I can almost certainly say from the tracks that there are more than one (2 individuals) passing through the area. The breed has been identified as the Asiatic Otter, but I have been informed by the local BTES (British Trust for Endangered Species) that these Otters are still protected and are going to be regarded as a naturalised species. What has been exciting about the tracks is that we havent just had footprints we have seen belly and tail marks and there is plenty of other evidence indicating that the otters have done very well throughout the freeze in maintaining a constant supply of food for themselves.

 

[Rumi]

BTES placed a camera on the upper Thames and caught an otter on it!!