Useful Hearsay: Part one

It was a piece of overheard conversation between two friends. The word Otter was what I caught. So I started my interrogation! The conversation was that one of them had been told by a friend if theirs, that if you went to a certain lake first thing in the morning, that you could very well see an Otter. With all wildlife, nothing is guaranteed and not all information is correct. But sometimes it is worth investigating.

The lake in question is not very far from where I live, and it just so happened that a few evenings later I was coming back home past it. I decided to stop and have a look. It can be quite amazing how different things can look close up. The lake was no different. I had often looked at it from afar and never really thought much about it. That all changed the moment I stood at the waters edge.

There was an abundant amount of wildlife about for such a cold winters evening. There were several Mallard around and every so often, Snipe would get up with their rasping call and drop back into the reeds. A piping call anounced a Kingfisher, and turning slowly around, there it was perched on a post watching the water below intently for any movement. Through the reeds a Heron suddenly appeared stalking cautiously and carefully along, and every so often there would be the shrill call of a Water Rail, though they remained hidden.

Looking around, it was very obvious why there would be Otters in such a place. They had everthing they could want. Fish would occasionally rise, even with the cold temperature of the water. So they had food. And there was also certainly plenty of cover for them to lay up in during the day. I started to have a look around for signs. It wasn't long before I found what I was looking for. In a muddy gateway, there was the pad marks of an Otter leading straight into the water. Judging by the size it looked like a female, a bitch Otter. Then I thought I could make out another slightly smaller pad mark, but it was too distorted by the puddling of ducks to be sure. Could it be that there was a mother and cub? It was worth further investigation.

I was back at first light the following morning. I stood at the same place as where I had found the pad marks the previous evening. It was as good a place as any to stand and try to see what was around and to learn the water. It had been light now for about fifty minutes but the sun had not yet risen. There was a lone Black-Headed Gull just out from the edge of the reeds, not far from where I stood. Suddenly it took off and flew out further into the lake and settled again looking back.

And then they appeared. I had been right after all. It was a mother and cub. She had caught a fish and came into the reeds along with the cub not twenty yards away. Unfortunately they were behind some reeds and no photo was possible. They then simply just vanished to appear again about ten minutes later hunting along the far side of the lake along the edge of the reeds. They were too far off for a photograph but I was able to watch them easily enough through the binoculars and get some great views of them.

For abour five minutes I watched them. Then there was three! This third one was very obviously the male, or dog Otter, judging by his size and the behaviour of the bitch Otter. She was nervous of him and it wasn't long before she slipped away with the cub and left him alone. About ten minutes later, he too vanished. It had been an eventful and rewarding morning. Sure, I had no photos, but I had had some great views of them and I had been proved right in so much as there was a mother and cub there. The dog Otter was a bonus.This was well worth persevering with...