Useful Hearsay: Part two

It was crisp underfoot. Clear skies had left a hard frost as I made my way around the lake the following morning. This time I was on the other side of the lake where I had last seen the Otters the previous morning. I found a suitable place in the half light and settled down to wait. It promised to be a clear morning and the wind was just in my favour.

At about the same time as the morning before, the mother and cub appeared. They started hunting straight away. It was now that I got my first close look at them both. The cub was about half the size of its mother and already looked an accomplished hunter. I managed to get a couple of pictures but could have done with another five minutes of light, as I had to take the shots on the cameras highest ISO setting, so the pictures were grainey. The bitch Otter dived, and I could see by the trail of bubbles that she was heading straight towards me. It was now that I realised I had made a grave mistake! I was standing too close to the waters edge and she was going to come up right at my feet!

Sometimes, if you are still enough you can get away with things. This time though, I didn't . As soon as she came up she saw me and with a loud thwack of her tail she dived. I looked to see what the cub was doing. The cub done exactly the same as its mother. It dived and came straight up at my feet! The cub too, got quite a shock, to see this weird creature standing in the reeds! They both re-surfaced, a bit further out and carried on hunting. I could have stayed, but as soon as they were out of sight, I came away to leave them in peace. I think they had had quite enough of me for one day!

Back again at first light the following morning. This time I had learnt my lesson. I stood in the same place, but this time away from the edge of the reeds, but still with a good view. When I was expecting them to appear, they didn't. Had I spooked them too much the previous morning? Then the noise started. In the reeds where the mother and cub normally came from, there was a lot of "chattering" and "yickering". Then came some whistleing a bit closer towards me. I knew straight away what was happening. The dog Otter was back and they were mating. This was frightening the cub which was whistleing to its mother but keeping its distance at the same time.

This went on at intervals for about half an hour. Then both the bitch and the dog Otters came out and started to play. They then started to hunt and shortly after, the dog Otter vanished. The bitch Otter came back into the reeds right by the side of me and whistled to the cub. She then slipped away back into the reeds to find it. A couple of soft whistles indicated they were reunited and then all was quiet.

It was two mornings later when I was back. I thought I saw two Otters together just as it got light but wasn't sure. Back again the following morning, but all was quiet and there was no sign. My guess is that the bitch Otter has gone to another part of her territory with the cub after the mating. Although I never got the pictures I wanted, it doesn't matter. I learnt  a lot just being able to watch them, in the few brief mornings I saw them. I will now leave them quiet for a while untill the mornings are lighter and a bit warmer. I think, that with a lot of luck and some patience, I may just get the pictures I am after. If I don't, I will still have had a fantastic experience.