Monday, 2 May 2011

On the trail of the Otter - My Otter tracking and monitoring pays off

 As its been a while since I have tried to film the Otters on the river Dane in Middlewich and as I have the new Bushnell model, I decided to take my camera trap and set it up in an area where I have found Otter prints and spraint (scent marker) in the past and as the last appearance of fresh signs was last Friday night Sunday night was the 9th night and as I had worked out the Otters routine of returning to the spot every 8-10 days the night seemed perfect I angled the camera onto the rocks and on the river as this time the Otter should be coming up river.
 I returned early this morning at 5am as the area is very close to where I live so it would not take long to get there and back and as I did not have to leave for work till 7.15 so when I got back I got an extra hour sleep but after checking the camera trap I noticed one video with something on and unbelievably it was an Otter and all the tracking and monitoring the tracks and spraint for months had paid off and now I will tray and set a few more cameras on the area when I next estimate the Otter to visit the area.
Here's a few shots from the video taken in the early hours of this morning
A close up of the Otter -Male or Female I am not sure?
The Otter looks like its sprainted by the rock but when I checked this afternoon there was nothing there not even any fresh footprints due to the mud be so firm as the river has not flooded for a while.
Overall it has been a great day and it was worth getting up early and when I saw the clip of the Otter as I stood in the river I was so excited and I am cannot wait to film the Otters on the next night it should show. Hopefully this short piece of footage should open a few doors for me and get some of my plans off the ground that have been relying on 100% proof of Otters on my local patch :).
Next time I try and film the Otters I should have the new Black IR Bushnell camera so I can't wait I think its going to be a busy week of Otter related tasks.

Thanks for reading

Mike
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3 comments:

  1. theconstantwalker2 May 2011 at 13:29

    Fantastic images Mike... I have just had a week in the Lake District and heard about the Otters at Bassentwhaite. Had a look but only managed to see the Ospreys....Fantastic to see. I only got a record shot...you can see it on my latest blog post.

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  2. Susan Lesley4 May 2011 at 01:22

    Amazing!

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  3. Mike Mottram4 May 2011 at 08:27

    Thankyou Susan and Andrew, its great to have some footage and images of Otters at last.
    I read your blog Andrew looks beautiful and I have not been to the Lake District before.

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