[Andrew Whitehouse]

This evening I went out for a walk, as I often do, along the sea front in St Andrews. Is started from the West Sands and went along the cliff top to the Castle and then down to the harbour. It was one of those strange humid evenings with no wind, a flat sea and a thick layer of grey cloud. The calmness of the sea made it easy to pick out the gulls, Fulmars, Eiders, Common Scoters, Guillemots and Razorbills that were feeding or roosting out in St Andrews Bay and I saw a couple of newly-arrived Swallows flutter over the houses towards the beach.

I walked on past the Castle to look for Purple Sandpipers on the flat rocks, which were slowly being revealed by the falling tide. I thought I'd seen a flock of perhaps 40 flying towards here but I couldn't locate any through my scope. I expect a few were probably hidden from of sight. Then I continued on towards the harbour mouth and took a last scan out to sea. It was becoming harder to identify the birds in the twilight and I began to think I should pack up and walk home. Then closer in I saw long dark shape moving through the water, perhaps a hundred yards from the shore. I thought for a second it was a seal straying unusually close to the rocks but then I saw a sight that I instantly recognised from the time I lived in Islay in the west of Scotland. The shape hunched up and dived down into the water followed by two small feet and a long tapered tail. It was an Otter, something I've never seen on the east coast.

I know that Otters can sometimes dive for several minutes but as this was shallow water I thought it would probably emerge more quickly. After a false alarm with a small rock I saw it again, apparently getting closer to the shore. When it appeared at the surface after a few more dives it had a large pink fish held in its jaws and, incredibly, there was another Otter trailing in its wake. The two writhed around in the water before coming up onto the rocks. They both looked about the same size, perhaps three feet in length from the tip of their snout to the end of the tail. I'm no judge of these things but I wondered if they were two fairly young siblings, as I know adult Otters can be much larger than this.

Out on the rock the Otter with the fish began eating while the other hid mostly out of sight lower down. I could see the pale brown chin and throat and the long flat shape of the head as it ate. A few hundred yards away a few local kids were having their own fish suppers and pizzas up by the Castle. Whenever I see Otters I'm always struck that, for such shy animals, they seem so nonchalant and playful. These two animals could have been on a wild sealoch in the west Highlands or they could have been on the shore in a town of 20,000 people. It didn't seem to matter to them one way or the other.

I walked back up the hill a short distance to a point where I could look down on the rocks. By now the two had a half of the fish each. A Heron flew over towards them and for five minutes eyed their catch with interest before furtively moving off. The first Otter eventually had its fill and slid back down into the water while the other continued to eat. The first was soon back with what appeared to be a bit of seaweed, which they both grappled with for a few minutes. Then they both took off, leaving the last remains of the fish, and ran along the top of the rocks before disappearing behind and out of sight.

[deboo]

Fantastic tale Andy.....

I had Sausage, Mash and Peas for supper....

Maybe we should dig up the old 'What's for dinner?' thread?

Maybe not heh?...hahahaha!

Dave.

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Thanks Dave - was feeling a bit quesy myself but these fellas soon sorted me out

[Gill Osborne]

Ah wow!!!!! Lucky you...I'd LOVE to see an otter! Have you come back down to earth yet LOL
I often used to get out, even sometimes for just half an hour or so, when I lived at the coast....there was always something to see! But now that I'm inland,about two/three miles, I really miss it! A council estate full of bored druggies is not quite the same somehow as a walk along the sea-front!!! Oh well, we plan to move within the next year or so!!!

Great report though...made me want to grab the bins and scope and get out now...but as it's now quarter to eleven I don't think i'd see much LOL

GILL

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Only just beginning to come back down Gill! There were a few bored druggies about here this evening too, although maybe it's a more scenic setting for them than a council estate. I wonder what they'd have made of the Otters.

Hope you move back out to the coast soon - sometimes I get a bit blase about having the sea on the doorstep but not this evening.

[christineredgate]

Thanks,Fifebirder,a lovely story.Yes,the ones of us who live on the coast do take the sea for granted.I am hoping to catch the seals again this year,they bask on our sandbanks,but unfortunatley the Cocklers are trying to gain access to the Duddon Estuary at Askam,which is across the bay from us,so I doubt if the seals will show an appearance.

[Jasonbirder]

Fantastic report! I love seeing Otters - i`ve never been fortunate enough to see one south of the border though - only Mink which isn`t quite the same is it!

[tom mckinney]

Originally Posted by Fifebirder

There were a few bored druggies about here this evening too, although maybe it's a more scenic setting for them than a council estate.

In St.Andrews...? I thought it was a posh gaff!

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I didn't say which drugs they were using Tom! You get a better class of cocaine around here.

[John N]

Thanks Andrew. What a fantastic read. As I was reading your story I was walking with you,I imagined all of those birds and the otter.I could even taste the fish supper. Look forward to reading about more of your walks in your part of the country. John.

[Karl J]

Great reading that Andrew.
The very few of times i've seen otters about the Norfolk Broads it's been brief glimpses, nothing like you had. Great stuff

[Gill Osborne]

Living at the coast IS fantastic...always something to look at - even if it's just the clouds and sky and waves...rather relaxing and hypnotic I've always found!
When I first met Neil in 1997 he lived at the coast whereas I was living inland on a not-so-good estate. So when he asked me whether I should move in with him at his flat or we both live in my flat there was NO contest! Had my bags packed within minutes!!! Ok, so the Whitley Bay flat was cold and damp and, in the summer, had HUGE ginger slugs in the kitchen and only one gas fire in the whole place and my flat had double glazing, central heating,security lobby etc...but it wasn't at the coast like Neil's was!
I had my very first garden as well, as opposed to a balcony, but due to the sea winds couldn't grow anything taller than, say, 2ft tall...it just got blown horizontal! And the snails!!! I kept collecting them up in a plastic box and taking them half a mile away to another field but it still took me about two summers before I got their numbers under check! First summer I removed 352!!! And this is from a tiny patch of 15ft X 12ft!!!
Oh yes, I still miss the coast...even though it's only about ten minutes away on the bus! ONE DAY I will move back there!!!

GILL