Last week the otter cubs and their mother reappeared on the cameras for two nights in a row. They are a month older than their first appearance and already look bigger and more agile.
The cameras also caught an episode of the cubs play-fighting and tumbling into the water. It is a bit disjointed because of the camera positions but fun to watch.
I also managed to retrieve a camera from the culvert after the recent floods. It wasn't well positioned so the view isn't as good as usual but we do get a few glimpses of the cubs. It is a bit fragmented but in the first clip the cub is scared of the culvert and retreats and the mother has to go back to collect it. In the daytime clip later on the cubs really struggle against the current and slippery gate, even though the water level was low.
Having seen where the cubs were playing on the first video I went back to reposition the cameras but they haven't been back since. One of the new camera angles is looking directly at a wood mouse nest hole with the disadvantage that it records dozens of mouse videos every night. However, the camera wasn't the only one watching.
The video shows the views from two cameras separately.
I can't tell from the video whether the owl caught the mouse but I suspect not as a mouse later reappeared and the owl was back two nights later. The second time only the top camera caught it in action but we can see a mouse in its talons as it flew off.
More news on the otter cubs in the new year.
Great footage Chris!
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