Northern Experience Wildlife Tours

Category: Otter

  • Otter Watching 02/06/13 – Patience pays off

    Just a couple of days before the end of 2008, I led an Otter Safari that produced prolonged sightings of our target species…just 5 seconds after arriving at the first site I’d planned to visit that day!  That produced a complication all of it’s own – how do you keep a family with a young child entertained for over 7 1/2 hours?  In that case the answer was rockpooling; not the most enjoyable of experiences as I plunged my arm into the icy cold water to turn over a series of rocks chosen by a very excited four year-old.  Usually though, wildlife requires a bit more of a patient approach…

    I collected John and Kelly from Morpeth railway station on Sunday afternoon, in glorious sunshine, and we set off to search Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.In the warm afternoon, with a myriad of insects buzzing around, Black-headed and Little Gulls, Swallows, Swifts and House and Sand Martins were all giving incredibly close views as they sallied back and forth in their pursuit of the tiny morsels of protein.  Grey Herons were standing by the water’s edge, Little Grebes dived, re-surfaced, dived, re-surfaced repeatedly and Mallard, Gadwall and Tufted Duck seemed to be in two minds whether to simply laze around or engage in some half-hearted courtship.  After 3 hours of peace and tranquility, and no Otters, I was wondering if we should move to another location.  Instead I decided that staying put would be the better option…

    A pair of Mallards came out of a gap in the reeds, no hurry, no panic but taking a direct line out to open water.  I focused my attention on where they’d just appeared from and then a dark, menacing, sinuous shape twisted and turned in amongst the reeds and we had our Otter.  Sometimes, you just need a little patience 🙂

  • Otter Watching 01/06/2013

    Single-species trips can be some of the most stressful experiences for NEWT, although possibly not quite so stressful for our clients 🙂  Some species that our clients want to see can be very straightforward, like Grey Seals or Puffins (at least if you come at the right time of year!), others can be more difficult, and one in particular has a certain degree of unpredictability…With large home ranges, and as happy on land as in the water, Otters aren’t always an easy animal to find.  We must spend more of our time looking for them, on days when we don’t have clients, than we spend doing anything else.  If a site is producing regular sightings that’s a bonus, but there’s always the possibility that one day they won’t be there, so we keep checking back-up sites as well.

    Arriving at Church Point, I met up with Ian and Ann, Antonia and Henry & Nigel and Mrs Hackett.  Our quarry for the afternoon was that elusive iconic predator and, having unexpectedly stumbled across four Otters a couple of weeks ago, the location for the first part of the afternoon was decided well in advance.  All seemed quiet; Black-headed Gulls were lazing in the afternoon sunshine, Swifts, Swallows and martins hawked insects and a Meadow Pipit was song-flighting…then Ann spotted an Otter!  Crossing the water towards a reedbed, the gaze of a Grey Heron and a pair of Mallards were firmly fixed on it too.  Twisting, turning, diving, feeding, it made it’s way to the edge of the reeds and continued feeding there.  Then it headed away from the edge and back towards us, before switching direction again and sliding beneath the surface.  A few minutes later it climbed out of the water and we could see it making it’s way through the grass.  Then it was back down at the water’s edge and being obligingly showy.  What came next was one of our highlights of the year so far as the Otter dived back into the water…followed by two more…and then a fourth 🙂  Then, as often happens with Otters, they simply vanished from sight…

    The afternoon continued with Sandwich Terns feeding just a few metres away from us, a pair of Marsh Harriers, two Brown Hares boxing, a Great Crested Grebe being the epitome of avian elegance, eight Little Gulls sitting on consecutive fence posts and an impressive mixed flock of hirundines as the wind direction shifted and a heavy shower passed over us from the north west, producing an intense rainbow out over Druridge Bay.

  • Feels autumnal

    As I drove through the rolling hills of rural Northumberland to the west of Morpeth, the weather was looking superb; blue sky, sunshine, a nice breeze.  I collected Mark and Nicola and we headed back towards the coastal plain, for an afternoon of birdwatching around Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.

    The conditions looked good for raptors, and it wasn’t too long before we had our first Common Buzzards of the afternoon.  Then another raptor appeared, soaring just overhead.  With long, thin wings, and a long narrow tail, it didn’t look like another buzzard, but it had the sun behind it so was a difficult to view silhouette.  Eventually it moved away to the north and, as it engaged in some mid-air sparring with one of the buzzards, its identity was revealed; juvenile Marsh Harrier.  As the two protagonists drifted further north, the orange crown of the harrier flashed in the sunlight as the bird soared in circles, contrasting with the rich dark chocolate brown of the rest of its plumage.

    Reaching the coast, we stopped off at Newbiggin to look for Mediterranean Gulls and it didn’t take too long before we spotted our first as it flew across from the southern end of the bay and landed on the beach right in front of us.  More followed, including a juvenile bird, and Nicola soon commented that, regardless of any plumage differences, the structure of the birds was noticeably different to the nearby Black-headed Gulls.  Leaving the Meds behind we began our journey along the coastal road through Druridge Bay.  A quick check of the Bewick Drift Flash produced 9 Ruff, 10 Dunlin and a Curlew Sandpiper and we spent a little while comparing the differences between the two sandpipers as well as having a very close view of just how different male and female Ruff are in terms of size.

    Our picnic stop, overlooking the North Sea, produced a beach filled with Ringed Plovers, and a lone Sanderling, as well as soaring Fulmars and rafts of Eiders, bobbing in the gentle swell far below us.  It was starting to turn colder, breezier, and the first drops of rain started to fall.  Cresswell Pond was very productive, as it has been for a few weeks now, but a few species really stood out;  a Spoonbill, which had been at East Chevington during the afternoon, flew in and made its way right round the edge of the pond, sweeping that extraordinary bill from side to side in search of food, Yellow Wagtails arrived to roost and sat along the base of the reeds, where they provoked a very aggressive response from the Common Snipe that were feeding there and a Barn Owl came out following a heavy shower and caught a vole in the dunes away to the north before carrying it within a few metres of where we were sitting.

    The finale to the trip came beside a fast flowing river, downstream was dark, inky blackness, but upstream the water was lit by the eerie glow from a nearby town.  Daubenton’s Bats were trawling the water surface, their presence betrayed by the expanding circles where they’d gaffed prey at the surface.  Then, a ripple too big to be from a bat; and an Otter surfaced for a few moments before disappearing into the dark.

  • Spotting the Otter

    They’re the sort of words I always want hear at the start of a day out with clients “The sole reason for coming to Northumberland on this holiday was to see an Otter“.  So, no pressure there, then…

    I collected Ann and Glyn from their b&b in Seahouses and we set out on an exploration of the best birdwatching and otter spotting locations on the Northumberland coast around Druridge Bay.  Avocet and Whimbrel were among the birdwatching highlights of the afternoon then, as dusk approached, it looked as though everything was going to go wrong; wave after wave of torrential rain battered down so the surface of the pond looked as if it were boiling and columns of mist were drifting across our field of view.

    I was still confident though.  The ducks, swans and other waterbirds were looking nervous, and that’s always a good sign.  Then it happened, as Ann said “what’s that over there by the reeds?”,  I got the end of the reedbed in view, steadied my binoculars, and an Otter surfaced before swimming along, allowing all of us to get it in focus, and vanishing into the reeds;  Ann had managed to see her first wild Otter and she’d found it herself 🙂 As the rain cleared a Long-eared Owl flew straight toward us and the Otter reappeared, this time trying to grab a Moorhen that was perched half-way up the reeds.  It twisted and turned, sleek and sinuous, and once again sought the cover of the vegetation at the water’s edge.  As the waterfowl settled and began to look much less worried, we left the hide and waded back to the car 😉

    I managed a good bonus bird myself on the drive back down the coast as a Little Owl flew from a roadside fencepost.

  • Triumph over adversity

    The changing weather on Thursday afternoon hadn’t filled me with confidence for Friday’s bespoke birdwatching and Otter Safari and, as the rain hammered against my office window on Friday morning, several ‘phone conversations with Vicky explored our options for the day.  Eventually we settled on starting early evening and going through until dark – perhaps that way the rain would have passed over?

    As I arrived at Shieldhall to collect Vicky and Dave, it was still looking like an ‘interesting’ evening.  We made our way to our favourite Otter site and had our picnic in the car.  The rain stopped…and was replaced by heavy mist 🙂  Never mind, we’ve had some fantastic wildlife experiences with clients in misty conditions so we made our way to the pool and settled into position and waited.  All seemed calm, and it was only out of the corner of my eye that I thought I saw a distant, small black shape vanishing beneath the water’s surface.  As I turned my binoculars in that direction, a Mute Swan began hissing and the Otter resurfaced 🙂  As the insistent alarm calls of Blackbirds rattled in the distance (perhaps they’d found a Long-eared Owl to harrass?) the Otter made it’s way menacingly across the water before finally disappearing into the dark depths of the reedbed.  Even when the weather’s inclement life goes on for our wildlife and, so long as we can stay reasonably sheltered and it isn’t too dark to see, excellent wildlife experiences still happen 🙂

  • Three days in early June

    We started June with three trips in the first four days of the month, all focused around our ‘local patch’; Druridge Bay and southeast Northumberland.

    On Friday morning I collected Gary and Claire from their holiday base in Proctor Steads, and we headed down the coast.  Even though we’ve lived close to Druridge Bay for nearly 12 years, the wildlife of this post-industrial landscape is still as special as it always was.  Whether it’s Tree Sparrows feeding young, ghostly pale Roseate Terns on their nest boxes on Coquet Island, a Cuckoo flying low over a coastal reedbed, dense flocks of hirundines and Swifts hawking insects low over a lake, Reed and Sedge Warblers singing from adjacent reedbeds allowing easy comparison of their song, Fulmars soaring along a cliff edge within a few metres of us as we eat our lunch or Blue-tailed Damselflies drifting along footpaths and tracks before settling on the grasses and apparently vanishing, there’s always something going on, always something to watch and the day always seems to end too soon.

    Saturday was an afternoon/evening Otter Safari and I collected Lesley and Kevin from Church Point before heading north.  After an afternoon spent birdwatching, with my own personal highlight being a very yellow Yellow Wagtail, and searching for Otters, we settled into position for an evening session at one of our favourite ponds.  As a pair of Roe Deer grazed poolside vegetation, looking resplendent in the sublime light from a sunset that looked like a fire burning on the horizon, and a Long-eared Owl drifted back and forth over the reedbeds, our quarry made his appearance.  Gliding menacingly through the water, the Otter managed to sneak up on 2 Mallards, who noticed him when he was just a few feet away and took flight.  Exploring the rest of the pool he was pursued by an ever-expanding flock of Black-headed Gulls before finally vanishing into the sanctuary of the reeds.

    Our third excursion around Druridge Bay was a Prestige Tour for Pete and Rachel.  Sedge and Willow Warblers and Reed Buntings all sang from obligingly open locations, although Reed Warblers remained hidden deep in reedbeds, a Roe Deer put in an uncharacteristic daytime appearance and a Mute Swan had a remarkable hissy fit.  The cause of his slightly embarrasing temper tantrum couldn’t be seen, but as he kept charging at a reedbed it seemed likely that a predator he saw as a threat to his cygnets was lurking out of our sight, but not his.  Later in the day an even more impressive display of annoyance was demonstrated by two cock Pheasants as they spent a good 20 minutes posturing and fighting.  Our clients frequently comment about how relaxing a day out with us is…and those Pheasants could really have done with chilling out too 🙂

  • Call of the wild

    Yesterday was the second of four Druridge Bay/Southeast Northumberland afternoon and evening trips this week, and I collected Natalie and Clive from Newton on the Moor just after lunch before heading south.

    Starting with a short woodland walk, we enjoyed close views of those arboreal specialists Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker, but this time Red Squirrel eluded us.

    At East Chevington, we were watching a roosting flock of Lapwing, Ruff and Curlew, and checking through the mass of assembled ducks, when a distant call caught my attention.  It was a minute or two before the birds appeared high in the sky to the north, but there they were; 29 Pink-footed Geese, the arrival that for me always heralds the end of the summer.

    A flock of Dunlin, Redshank and Curlew at Cresswell contained a Little Stint, and a brief seawatch produced a small flock of Knot heading north.

    A patient wait as the orange glow of the sunset illuminated the surface of a pond brought rewards as our attention was drawn to a scattering flock of Coot.  Just a few metres from the ripples left by the rapidly departing birds, the menacing shape of an Otter was twisting, turning and diving.  As it vanished in to the dark shadows of a reedbed, the final indication of it’s presence were the bright trails left by Mallards and Little Grebes as they made a frantic effort to be anywhere other than where the Otter was.  Even more exciting for me, was the completely unexpected appearance of a mammal that I haven’t seen since childhood, as the twilight was punctuated by a loud ‘plop’ and a Water Vole swam cross in front of us 🙂 Tawny Owls were calling and Common Pipistrelles flitted back and forth as the full moon, and cold wind, made the evening feel really autumnal.

    I dropped Natalie and Clive back at Newton on the Moor, and decided to avoid the roadworks on the A1 on the route home and instead took the minor road from Shilbottle to Warkworth.  I was still delayed though, but by a young Badger that trotted along the middle of the road ahead of me for a quarter of a mile before wandering into the verge and watching as I passed by.  Expect the unexpected…

  • If at first…

    I had a feeling of deja vu just after the Bird Fair, when Alex and Richard joined us for a Prestige Tour on Richard’s birthday.  My brief was the same as last year; birdwatching, photography and Otters, and I had no doubt that it was going to be a real pleasure.  Last year the Otters eluded us, but we’ve found new sites since then, and changed the route, and timings, of our Otter Safaris to take that into account.  A very obliging Grey Heron allowed consideration of composition…and why you shouldn’t set your camera to one of it’s pre-programmed modes 😉  A Common Snipe was a good subject to investigate why autofocus may sometimes be inferior to manual focus, and a very heavy shower produced a degree of contrast between sky and water that illustrated our discussions about camera metering systems.

    Small groups of Whimbrel and Golden Plover were heading south, and we set ourselves close to one of our regular Otter sites as the day wore on.  All of the wildfowl started heading in one direction…away from the Otter that was making its way menacingly across the water 🙂  It vanished into the reeds, then reappeared before sliding away into the darkness again; leaving behind lots of terrified ducks, 2 very happy clients and a relieved guide 🙂

  • It’s ‘otter in August…

    We’re just about at the point where our 3hr evening safaris will be starting before 6pm; early August and the evenings are drawing in already!  Guided birdwatching, and a search for one of our favourite predators, always has an exciting atmosphere when it happens as darkness approaches.

    On my way to collect Niki and Haydn from Warkworth, I stopped off for a few minutes beside the River Coquet – corvids and pigeons were swirling in the breeze, giving an autumnal feel to the evening.

    With clients safely in our vehicle, we headed down the coast through the post-industrial landscape of Druridge Bay and the (only just) industrial  heartland of southeast Northumberland.  East Chevington was our first stop, producing sightings of 2 very obliging Common Snipe in the roost of Lapwings.  A flock of Curlew heading south were travelling with 2 Whimbrel and a Bar-tailed Godwit and the 2 juvenile Marsh Harriers were much appreciated as they quartered the reedbeds, flushing Mallard, Gadwall and Teal.

    We continued our journey through southeast Northumberland and, as the first drops of rain began to pepper the surface of the water, an obvious edginess among a flock of Gadwall heralded the arrival of the star of the show; gliding along, sleek, dark and menacing, the Otter showed well, although briefly, as it headed across the open water and into the reeds opposite.  Then it was time for us to do the same, and depart into the deepening gloom of the evening.

  • Burning desire

    Tuesday, and I’m sitting with Matt and Becky, waiting in anticipation as dusk approaches.  An orange/yellow glow rimming the horizon and the pallid, diffuse nature of the clouds covering the rest of the sky enhancing the impression that a thousand fires were burning in the distance.  Through the flames, dark ashes danced across our field of view; Tufted Ducks, Mallards and Coots skittering across the water.  Against the smoke, more dark soot tossed on the strong northerly breeze, this time Noctule Bats and Pipistrelles.

    Then a burst of excitement as a whirling dervish appears, chasing ducks and geese; the Otter porpoising with serious intent, hitting the water with a splash like the crackle of a burning log.  Then the flames die and we’re left with the last few pops of the dying embers.