Ruby said:
Hi Jon,
THanks for that - very interesting and good info...
Have you been lucky enough to see one on the Stour??
Jurek - I fear that you are correct!!
Rgds.... Ruby
No, I've not seen one on the Stour, Ruby, for all the usual reasons. But I
have found spraint on several occasions between 1992 and 2003, with increasing frequency latterly. Whether they're residents or transients I honestly couldn't say. But...
(you're not going to like this, sorry!)
... I do see them fairly regularly here in Shetland, probably once a fortnight or so, sometimes more often. Most frequently when I'm out birding around the coast near my house, but sometimes (you
really won't like this!!) from the house itself, as it overlooks a great piece of shoreline. The last couple of winters we've had a female using one of our byres (the one I store sacks of peat in for the fire) as a temporary holt; several times I've walked in to find her scrambling away over the sacks, and swearing at me in Otter from the back of the byre. She's quite feisty!
Friends on the island are especially blessed for Otters, as they live near a tidal lagoon (a houb), and often see Otters fishing only a few feet from their window. A few weeks ago I was there watching a female and two of presumably last year's cubs fishing along the shore, maybe some 12 feet away.
If you're ever coming to Shetland, let me know. I'll try and give you some directions to finally meeting your Otter.
Jon