The rain that started soon after I collected Marilyn, Pam, John and Jen & Anne and Bridget from Church Point had passed over and there was a touch of azure beyond the clouds overhead…
An obliging Little Owl had given us a stare from it’s perch in a bare tree as we head up the Druridge Bay coast in search of Otters. Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Cormorant and Little Grebe were diving, Gadwall, Mallard and Teal were dabbling, Coot were doing a bit of both and a pair of Great Crested Grebes had a half-hearted attempt at a courtship dance as Water Rails squealed from deep in the reeds and a Brown Hare loped across a nearby field.
As the sun sank towards the western horizon Jen spotted our quarry. Twisting, turning and surfacing to crunch whatever it had just caught the Otter headed back to it’s holt after 10 minutes. Then it was back out, coming closer to us and having a real tussle with a large fish which we occasionally caught sight of as it drifted near the surface under the onslaught from the Otter. As the wind strengthened and temperature dropped the sinuous shape of the Otter drifted back into the shadows under a waxing gibbous Moon 🙂
The Otter is probably this one that we were watching back in January.
We’ve got Otter Safaris up to the end of May and again from early September, but we can organise them to order from June-August, so get in touch to book your tour with us 🙂