The latest from OtterCam

I have been experimenting more with twin trail cameras for the otter videos.  The cameras are still in the culvert as this is the most reliable place to see the otters, although usually in the middle of the night.  The otters are well used to the cameras which are clamped on the downstream end of the pipe.  The cameras are fairly close together and the otters squeeze between them.

Then they shimmy up the ramp over the sluice gate.  The cameras haven't picked them up coming the other way recently.

The left hand camera is now fitted with an extra +0.5 dioptre lens and is in focus for more or less the length of the pipe (5m).  The right hand camera has the standard lens and focuses beyond about 3-4m.  Both these are low glow cameras working at a wavelength of 850nm but the left camera seems to respond better to the double illumination, even though it is the older of the two.  The newer camera struggles to get enough infrared light at distance so here I have cropped it and pushed the exposure as much as I can in iMovie.  There is obviously an imbalance in exposure and image quality but it does provide continuity.

The second time I tried was better.  The otters were moving at 5.30 this morning so there was some natural light.  As the cameras were recording simultaneously I also balanced it better by using the audio track from the first camera for the whole sequence.  (I am learning but there is a lot to learn.)  The mark on the pup's back is just a leaf.

The culvert is 75cm in diameter and the visible length of the ramp is 78cm so it is possible estimate the size of the otters.  I think the mother is about 70cm nose to tail and the pup is about 60cm.  The pup seems more agile every week.

More Fox News

Interpreting fox behaviour isn't always straightforward.  It is all to do with ears and tail and body posture.  In the spring, when the vixen was suckling her cubs*, the dog was content to let her feed first and he often lay on the lawn to wait his turn.  That is no longer the case and he now makes sure they all know he is top dog.  This encounter started as I was watching the cub feeding with its mother.  The dog fox suddenly raced in to displace them and take over the food.  The vixen retreated in a very submissive posture and the cub went over to her for reassurance.

The cub went back for a few biscuits but you can see the dog wasn't happy (ears back, tail curled).

The vixen had moved round to the other side and the cub again went over to her again (the dog's tail is curled again).

Suddenly the dog snapped at the cub (too quick for the shutter speed on the camera) and sent it packing.  Look at his tail in the air.

And then he snarled at the vixen (with his tail curled).

Sensing that he was in a proper bad mood she retreated a short distance.

The cub was still hungry and decided to try its luck again.

This time it was accepted but it was wary and kept a safe distance away.

In contrast, on another night the dog fox fed quite happily with the cub.

I have also seen a second cub for the first time.  This one has a full tail, so is easily recognised.  So far it has only turned up once while I have been watching but it may also come after I have gone to bed.

* Marc Baldwin's website, Wildlife Online, says that a lactating vixen has double her normal calorie requirements, so perhaps the dog fox senses that.

The otters walk the plank

This was very satisfying.  After the trauma of last week, when the mother otter tried to pull the pup up the sluice gate by its nose, I put in a plank to form a ramp for the otters.  And they use it.  Here are the two with a completely painless ascent of the gate.  For the pup it is still a bit of a scramble.

I had two cameras set, one with a close focus and one with a standard lens so I also made a different version of the action.  See what you think.

I have also seen a solo otter go through, looking slightly weary.  My guess is that this is not the resident female as her pup is now too big to be left alone, so I wonder if it is one of last year's pups (presumably female) still sharing the territory.

Fox News

The first fox arrives before 10pm, just as it is getting dark, but it is fairly random which one arrives first, the dog, the vixen or the cub.  I often see two together but so far never all three.  The two adults can tolerate each other but only if social distancing is observed.

Otherwise it can get a bit tense.  This encounter was too fast for the very low shutter speed I have to work with in the dim light.

After this the vixen went and lay down a few metres away.  She waited until the dog left and then came back for some more biscuits.  This was filmed on the phone through the kitchen window.

On another night she was here first but then wandered off.  When she returned the dog fox was eating so she kept her distance and lay down to wait until he left.

Both parents are still close to the cub.  Here it is with the father

And the mother

The dog fox is moulting his tail this week so it looks a bit scruffy.

The vixen's tail is bushier but not like it was in the winter.  There is almost no white tip to the tail.

And of course the cub will never have a white tip to its tail.  One time I found a rabbit and left it out for the foxes.  The cub was here first but had difficulty carrying it off.

Moments later it was back eating biscuits, presumably having hidden the rabbit for later.