Otter!

I am in love with otters.

Undoubtedly watching a wild otter swimming and feeding for a couple of hours is an experience that will stay with me.

We were in Scotland and I had taken myself off on a walk; the sunshine and the beauty of the place were glorious.  I wanted to find an otter- though I might have settled for just signs of otters.  I knew they frequented somewhere 5 miles to the west and a second location a similar distance to the south, but it was unknown to me if they inhabited this particular headland.

It was when I sat down to eat a snack with both camera and binoculars packed away that I saw what I had been hoping for: an otter walked along a rock then plopped into the sea.  I threw the half-eaten cereal bar into the bag, hurriedly took out the camera and by the edge of the cliff lay down flat and watched the water. It was clear after several minutes of expectation that the otter had gone, not that there was any disappointment at losing sight of it: I was buzzing!

I walked along the coast and saw it again. This time after he/she  had disappeared under the water I saw a head re-surface.  The wind was in a favourable direction, blowing my scent away over land not sea and I lay flat on the grass to minimise my visibility.  What followed was about an hour of diving and eating (by otter, not me).

After a while it swam out of my line of sight behind a cliff.  I initially decided not to pursue because the land rises up there and thus any photos would be of an otter far away, and if it went farther out I would lose all sight in the choppy waves anyway, so I figured my best bet would be staying put and hoping for a return. Reluctantly, when it was evident this plan was not working, I followed.

It was from this vantage point that I saw the otter climb up over the crest of the cliff presumably for a drink of fresh water. This time it was a long walk for me to play catch-up and I did not see him/her again. I found some spraints [otter faeces] by a fresh water pool. But with no sighting of the otter I had to end the photography there and head back.

Three otter spraints on the grass, and not a bad view!

I am plotting when I can next return to Scotland. I would love to experience this again and to build up a wealth of photos. This trip had been laden with hope of seeing otters, not least because I have been reading 'The Track of the Wild Otter' by Hugh Miles, a book that I very much recommend.  This blog covers one day of otter pursuit compared to the many months that Hugh spends in Shetland, so I cannot have the audacity to compare the two writings, except to direct readers to the book if this blog has been at all interesting to you! And I hope to return to Scotland next year in search of more otter encounters.