Unexpected visitor to Seaton Park (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Seaton Park is a rather picturesque city park in Aberdeen, lying along the southern banks of the River Don. I often go there because it's just a few minutes walk from my office and there's normally a decent selection of birds around the river. This morning my main intention was to take a few pictures using my Nikon ED50 scope. There was thick snow on the ground and sometimes in the air but for the most part it was bright and clear. I was pleased to be able to get some reasonable shots of drake Goldeneye and Goosander as well as various commoner birds. A Buzzard flying over was a surprise but a Sparrowhawk was more expected. The usual Dipper wasn't about but a Grey Wagtail was walking along the far edge of the river.

At around midday and after finishing photography I walked back along the river and began to head back to my office. I gave the water one last scan to see if any ducks were upstream and saw a strange shape appear briefly in the rapids before disappearing under. When the shape reappeared on the surface I was amazed to see that it was an Otter. It was fishing quite vigorously in the shallow water, jumping in and out all the time. I watched it doing this for several minutes, whilst dog walkers and joggers passed close by. Eventually it came out onto an island on the outside of the meander and trotted furtively along the edge before reappearing in the water. It then set off through a shallow channel, for a short time standing up in the water, before going out of sight. It was too quick and distant to get any photos. I moved around the bend in the river, hoping I might see it again but it seemed to have gone and soon the snow was falling heavily again.

A remarkable animal to see in a city park in the middle of the day. I hope it returns again soon.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Andrew

How amazing! You just wouldn't expect to see otters in a city like that, would you. There's a few round this way, but we rarely get a sight of them.

Still snowing with you, is it? I was up in the hills this afternoon and had a couple of short showers, but didn't come to anything.

Not much around for me, apart from an enormous flock of mixed finches, but nice to see the Lapwing are coming back now.

Any chance of seeing your pictures?

D

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Hi Delia,

It's actually stopped snowing for the time being. We must have around a foot here now. I think it was the time of day as much as the situation that was surprising. It wouldn't have been such a shock to see an Otter first thing in the morning when nobody's around, but in the middle of the day on a Sunday with lots of people was very unexpected.

Here's a few pictures - some better than others.

 

[Capercaillie71]

That's a good sighting Andrew and quite unexpected for the middle of the day and the middle of the city. My wife once saw an otter crossing the road at kirkhill industrial estate by the airport in the middle of the day, which must have been quite a sight.

One evening last year I saw a roe deer running up Westburn road in Aberdeen. It was crossing between the two parks on either side of the road.

Otter, deer, dolphins and seals in the harbour - Aberdeen is obviously a haven for wildlife!

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

That's a good sighting Andrew and quite unexpected for the middle of the day and the middle of the city. My wife once saw an otter crossing the road at kirkhill industrial estate by the airport in the middle of the day, which must have been quite a sight.

One evening last year I saw a roe deer running up Westburn road in Aberdeen. It was crossing between the two parks on either side of the road.

Otter, deer, dolphins and seals in the harbour - Aberdeen is obviously a haven for wildlife!

Not forgetting the birds of course. I've seen a few Roe Deer in Seaton Park but it must be strange to see one running along a busy road.

 

[Dave B Smith]

Andrew,
Nices shots of the Goldeneyes and Mallards - we have the same ducks here right now! Of course I'm checking all the Common Goldeneyes real close looking for a Barrow's in amongst them!

 

[Ian Bell]

Nice Story

Nice story Andrew.I bet the Otter was not as surprised as yourself..! Will you be walking that stretch of Seaton Park on Monday ? They say lightning never strikes twice but last week I witnessed lightning coming with a snowstorm and Ive never seen that before.Youll be volunteering to work every Sunday now..!

 

[Big Phil]

I've seen Mink on the Don in Seaton Park a number of times, but never Otter. I've heard that Otters kick Mink out, so your story is good news!.

Yours gripped,

BP

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Nice story Andrew.I bet the Otter was not as surprised as yourself..! Will you be walking that stretch of Seaton Park on Monday ? They say lightning never strikes twice but last week I witnessed lightning coming with a snowstorm and Ive never seen that before.Youll be volunteering to work every Sunday now..!

I tend to pop down there whenever I fancy or can manage a break! I'll be looking particularly on the river from now on.

I managed to miss the lightning the other day (think I was probably in bed!). Sounds impressive.

 

[kas]

Otters are not uncommon up here in Caithness, and I have even had good sightings from my house. A neighbour once had one in his garden, it had come off the main A9 road. LOL.
Yet it is always an awesome sight to see one. So to find one in the city is a fantastic find, especially if you are not used to seeing them. I hope you catch up with it again.

Nice photos as well.

 

[Capercaillie71]

The Otter in Aberdeen

I have a copy of a book called 'The Natural History of Aberdeen' by Peter Marren, which was published in 1982. This is what it says about Otters in the city 20+ years ago:

"The otter is seldom met with and a question mark must be attached to its status around Aberdeen. Recent reliable sightings include one on the Bridge of Don island in 1971 [not far from Andrew's sighting in Seaton Park], and this would be perhaps the most likely regular haunt at Aberdeen"

Other interesting facts about Seaton Park from this book were that the shrubbery in the park used to hold a breeding colony of redpolls and the first breeding pair of Lesser Whitethroats recorded north of the Forth were found here in 1977.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Interesting stuff Capercaillie. I know that they've become much more widespread in the UK in the last few decades but still feel like a rare animal even when you see them regularly. I used to see them quite regularly from my house when I lived in Islay but even then it's almost impossible not to watch them for as long as possible.

I'll keep an ear out for Lesser Whitethroats this spring.

 

[RecoveringScot]

Nice story Andrew.I bet the Otter was not as surprised as yourself..! Will you be walking that stretch of Seaton Park on Monday ? They say lightning never strikes twice but last week I witnessed lightning coming with a snowstorm and Ive never seen that before.Youll be volunteering to work every Sunday now..!

I was under that lightning storm - and also under a metal bus shelter (at Queen's Cross). The lightning was so close that we didn't hear thunder, just a bang and a sizzling noise as the lightning struck. 'Terrified' doesn't adequately describe my state at the time, I can tell you.

 

[Ian Bell]

I was under that lightning storm - and also under a metal bus shelter (at Queen's Cross). The lightning was so close that we didn't hear thunder, just a bang and a sizzling noise as the lightning struck. 'Terrified' doesn't adequately describe my state at the time, I can tell you.

Sounds like a quick cure for constipation Phil...!

 

[Big Phil]

That was some crazy weather, I was biking across town at the time, getting battered by snow/hail, trying not to fall off the bike on snow covered roads with lightning kicking off far too close for comfort......

 

[RecoveringScot]

Sounds like a quick cure for constipation Phil...!

My own cure for that is lashings of white wine. This has the added advantage of working even when you don't suffer from constipation, as I don't.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[iwa04jcains]

Hi Andrew, I'm new to the forum.
You must've been very luckly to see an Otter there. Often I go up to Donmouth just up the river with my dad trying to see if we can spot any Seals. Most of the time we have but never an Otter! We went to Seaton Park once but didn't see much. I guess it was just an unlucky day. At Donmouth there's a wide range of birds. I hope the Otter does come back.

Seaton Park is a rather picturesque city park in Aberdeen, lying along the southern banks of the River Don. I often go there because it's just a few minutes walk from my office and there's normally a decent selection of birds around the river. This morning my main intention was to take a few pictures using my Nikon ED50 scope. There was thick snow on the ground and sometimes in the air but for the most part it was bright and clear. I was pleased to be able to get some reasonable shots of drake Goldeneye and Goosander as well as various commoner birds. A Buzzard flying over was a surprise but a Sparrowhawk was more expected. The usual Dipper wasn't about but a Grey Wagtail was walking along the far edge of the river.

At around midday and after finishing photography I walked back along the river and began to head back to my office. I gave the water one last scan to see if any ducks were upstream and saw a strange shape appear briefly in the rapids before disappearing under. When the shape reappeared on the surface I was amazed to see that it was an Otter. It was fishing quite vigorously in the shallow water, jumping in and out all the time. I watched it doing this for several minutes, whilst dog walkers and joggers passed close by. Eventually it came out onto an island on the outside of the meander and trotted furtively along the edge before reappearing in the water. It then set off through a shallow channel, for a short time standing up in the water, before going out of sight. It was too quick and distant to get any photos. I moved around the bend in the river, hoping I might see it again but it seemed to have gone and soon the snow was falling heavily again.

A remarkable animal to see in a city park in the middle of the day. I hope it returns again soon.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Hi Jon,

I reckon I was definitely quite lucky to see the Otter. I go there quite regularly (was there this afternoon in fact) and this is the only time I've seen one there.

Seaton Park's quite a good spot sometimes. There are Dippers and Grey Wagtails breeding along the river and these are quite often easy to see. Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser and Goldeneye are normally about in the winter and it's a good spot for seeing Sparrowhawks. Kingfishers occasionally appear and I've seen Roe Deer more than once. So I reckon if you're patient and keep your eyes open you should see some decent birds and animals there, although I can't promise Otters.

 

[G Anderson]

otter

otter on river very nice, i see from my house, once.

Seaton Park is a rather picturesque city park in Aberdeen, lying along the southern banks of the River Don. I often go there because it's just a few minutes walk from my office and there's normally a decent selection of birds around the river. This morning my main intention was to take a few pictures using my Nikon ED50 scope. There was thick snow on the ground and sometimes in the air but for the most part it was bright and clear. I was pleased to be able to get some reasonable shots of drake Goldeneye and Goosander as well as various commoner birds. A Buzzard flying over was a surprise but a Sparrowhawk was more expected. The usual Dipper wasn't about but a Grey Wagtail was walking along the far edge of the river.

At around midday and after finishing photography I walked back along the river and began to head back to my office. I gave the water one last scan to see if any ducks were upstream and saw a strange shape appear briefly in the rapids before disappearing under. When the shape reappeared on the surface I was amazed to see that it was an Otter. It was fishing quite vigorously in the shallow water, jumping in and out all the time. I watched it doing this for several minutes, whilst dog walkers and joggers passed close by. Eventually it came out onto an island on the outside of the meander and trotted furtively along the edge before reappearing in the water. It then set off through a shallow channel, for a short time standing up in the water, before going out of sight. It was too quick and distant to get any photos. I moved around the bend in the river, hoping I might see it again but it seemed to have gone and soon the snow was falling heavily again.

A remarkable animal to see in a city park in the middle of the day. I hope it returns again soon.