View Full Version : Otters
This evening walking my dogs along the river bank i was lucky enough to see a otter bobbing about in one of the pools ! I was surprised that he hung about even with my dogs at my side, it was no more than 15 -20 feet away and then duck under the water... i thought then that was it off on its merry way but no, it surfaced about 6 foot closer, moved to the left then the right and i began to wonder who was watching who :) made my night that did, thats the second time i have been lucky enough to see any otter in the wild, the last time was one night when i was fishing on the river.
What i did wonder is, where do otters make there nest ( i not sure what a otters home is called ) is it in the bank side ? as there has been fresh digging at a spot near where i walk the dogs, in the bank side just a few feet higher than the water level.
Happy tonight, you bet, thats me seen otters, roe deer, foxes, red squirrel and the usual array of birds no more than a five minute walk from my back door !
r.rackstraw
18-May-07, 22:32
The Otter does dig its hole (called a holt) in the bankside but sometimes locates it further away from the river.
This is only about 3 to 4 feet from the river, its a high sided bank, with a gentle run down to the waters edge.
SOlus,
You must live in a lovely place. I once saw three juvenile otter in the Thurso River, down below the doctor's surgery, but that was some years ago. There are otters around where I live now, past Halkirk - unfortunately I've only seen a dead one. I understand dog otters have a very wide range - up to 10 or 20 km. I often see roe deer, and often Mr and Mrs Fox, but I've never seen red squirrel. I've never seen any kind of squirrel in Caithness. I didn't know they existed here?
I live on the outskirts of Dyce Tilter, out the door over the road we got a lovely park area and walks along the river, but if you go to the left and away from the park area there is a old worn path through the tree's, ( its the way the fishermen go to get to the quiet spots to fish, once through the tree's it opens to a lovely natural walk. I always say to myself i am going to start taking my camera with me, but i always forget or say " tomorrow ".
I live on the outskirts of Dyce Tilter,
One day I'll get it into my head that not everyone on the org lives in Caithness. Now I understand. Aberdeenshire's lovely.
I always say to myself i am going to start taking my camera with me, but i always forget or say " tomorrow ".
Mmm. Like me with the binoculars. I'm sure I see ospreys and merlins and harriers and god knows what when I don't have the binos with me.
North Rhins
18-May-07, 23:38
Never been lucky enough to see an otter in the wild. There’s been sightings on two of the beaches about a mile away from us. You must have well trained dogs for them to stay by your side. I’m afraid border terriers don’t do staying, that’s why I’ll never see an otter whilst I’ve got them with me!
my springer is well behaved ( ex gun dog) my lab .... well i was training him to the gun but he spent a lot of time ( almost a year ) getting major surgery on hips from 6 months on so training kind of went out the window, but tonight i think he was as surprised as me and stood there wondering what it was in the water !
buggyracer
19-May-07, 00:43
otters do live in holts sometimes under the water, ive seen them several times in the legion pool in thurso and upwards, lovely animals to watch.
They sure are lovely to watch, and amazing how confident it was just rolling about watching me
North Rhins
19-May-07, 22:51
Did your lab have hip dysplasia? I sold a lovely chocolate bitch pup to a vet. He diagnosed hip problems within a couple of months. Fortunately his practice partner was a small animal surgeon so was able to ‘make’ the pup a new pair of hips. She lived a very happy active life with no problems at all.
Yes Rhins, kind of, he had almost no hip socket, so the ball had no socket to hold it and moved about on his hips, i spotted it when he was almost 5 months, he hardly ran, and only in short trots, then one evening he whimpered getting up. Thank god for insurance, my vet reccomended a specialist in Fife who deals with problems like his,two triple pelvic osteotomy's, cuts the pelvis in three places, totally away from the skeleton and moves it , re- attatches it, major surgery, no walks or excersise for almost 9 months, then gradually build it up.
http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/tpo.htm
Even with out insurance we would have found the cash, and now you would not know he is held together with screws and plates !
Jeemag_USA
19-May-07, 23:18
Otters are very curious creatures and quite comfortable around people and other animals provided they are not threatening them or making bolts towards them, they can be quite cheeky and will show off a little if they know someone is looking. I think the more remote you find them the braver they are, I remember following one on the Forsie-Scye Burn which runs from Loch Scye to the Broubster Leans. It was intent on keeping itself only ten feet away from me in the water all the time and back-stroking while he stared at me, it was real funny, he seemed to hang around me for about 10 minutes or so and never once looked like he was bothered at all. Also have seen them in the legion pool, further up Thurso RIver at the first footbridge and up past the Salmon pool, also seen them just above the road bridge on Wick river.
Haven't seen any in the USA, don't know if there is any here but I see a lot of Muskrats, which have a similar cheeky behaviour but look more like a beaver with a rats tail, pretty cute too. Their holt or home is similar to an Otter but the entrance is usually underwater and the house above water.
http://eliot.needham.k12.ma.us/technology/lessons/animals/images/muskrat1.jpg
Solus.. ,you lucky little devil...Hope you know how fortunate you are. !!:)
For all you Otter lovers out there, sorry to bring up windfarms (theres another thread already going on that subject!) but you might not be aware that the proposed windfarm on Spittal Hill may have a serious effect on the strong Otter population on the hill. The developers acknowledge in their Environmental Statement that there is a strong population of regional importance on the hill. How they will survive during construction is beyond me! Apparently, Otters can breed at any time of the year and the young remain in the holt for two months when it is imperative they are not disturbed.
Lolabelle
20-May-07, 10:05
Are otters common in Caithness? And are they found in little streams as well as rivers?
For all you Otter lovers out there, sorry to bring up windfarms (theres another thread already going on that subject!) but you might not be aware that the proposed windfarm on Spittal Hill may have a serious effect on the strong Otter population on the hill. The developers acknowledge in their Environmental Statement that there is a strong population of regional importance on the hill. How they will survive during construction is beyond me! Apparently, Otters can breed at any time of the year and the young remain in the holt for two months when it is imperative they are not disturbed.
very disturbing Olivia,you sound as though you know what you are on about.Is there some authority you or we can get on to!
Or is it as usual no good or to ;late!
very disturbing Olivia,you sound as though you know what you are on about.Is there some authority you or we can get on to!
Or is it as usual no good or to ;late!
The windfarm application is current which means anyone can object before the deadline of 1st June. There is a website www.spittalwindfarmopposition.co.uk (http://www.spittalwindfarmopposition.co.uk) where there is an online objection facility as well as a form you can print off and send, or best of all put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and write your own objection to
The Scottish Executive
Energy Consents Unit
2nd Floor, Meridian Court,
5 Cadogan Street
Glasgow
G2 6AT
or email - energyconsents@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
hope you will object and help the otters of Spittal Hill!
i saw an otter crossing the road very close to spittal hill, fantastic!! however not so fantastic for the otters if that windfarm gets the ok. instead it'll be disaster. i've returned my objection HAVE YOU?
Are otters common in Caithness? And are they found in little streams as well as rivers?
I dont think they are common, but their ranges can be very large so they may travel long distances to get food. I was really surprised to find out about the Otter population on Spittal Hill because at first you would not think its a suitable place. However, there is a small body of water on the hill and many burns running from it to the lochs. It is also very peaceful and so is probably an ideal habitat. I am so upset that they want to trash the place with a huge windfarm - how can that be good for the environment if the likes of the otters are harmed?
Saw the cheeky chap again this evening, this time he got startled and retired to the far bank but slowly worked his way back to us , again sitting about 15 feet away. :D
I promise i will ( honestly ) start taking my camera down, he is lovely to watch.
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