Frolics on OtterCam

It looks as though the otters have completely taken over the blog, for now at least.  I am still refining the camera positions each time to try to cover as much of the action as possible.  I have four cameras on the old boardwalk bridge and the otters are triggering about 150 videos a week, mostly in daylight.  That's over two hours of videos clips to sort through - after sifting out all the moorhen, water rail, heron and wood mouse pictures.  Most recordings don't get edited into a brief story but the best do.  Here is the family, close together for once.

At other times the cubs lag behind and mother has to wait for them.  I expect the second one is the cub that got lost a few weeks ago.  I can't tell if it always the same one dawdling.

The cubs are now over seven months old and fairly well grown but they spend a lot of their time playing and still seem to expect their food to be caught for them.  Here is a taste of what they get up to when the cameras are watching.

The dog otter hasn't been around for the past week or so - I expect he's on patrol somewhere else in his territory.  More otter news soon.

Yet more from OtterCam

I can barely keep up.  I am intending to post something other than otters on the blog but the cameras are seeing so much at the moment that it would be a pity not to share it.   Just so it's not all otters I'll start with moorhens.

The next video is a bit sad to watch.  The mother otter caught a fish and gave it to one of the cubs but unfortunately the cub lost the fish down a gap between the boards.  It went in a frantic pursuit and amazingly managed to squeeze through a gap which is only two or three inches wide.  I think the fish must have got away, despite being bitten in the head by the mother otter, because seconds later the cub was back for another look on top.  Eventually it had to give up, lesson learned but still hungry.

It is astonishing that the cub could fit through the gap, and that it knew it would.  Here is another edit with a slow-motion replay.

At about 7 months of age the cubs may be starting to catch their own fish but I have yet to see that on camera.  Most of the time they just want to play.

More news from OtterCam

It didn't take long.  The otters very quickly became used to seeing my cameras in the new position in daylight and now regard them as playthings to be sniffed or wrestled to the ground, which doesn't do much for picture quality.

The gap in the bridge which the otters use to go in and out of the water is less than six inches wide but they all easily fit through it.  The bridge is covered with moss and seems to be a favoured spot for rolling and grooming, as well as play-fighting.  The cubs are probably about seven months old now and are nearly as big as their mother so it is getting more difficult to tell them all apart.  I think the "fight" here is between mother and a cub.

The dog otter is still around as well.  I was excited when I saw him bringing a large fish out of the water but disappointed when he went straight back in before eating it.  This is the same brief sequence on two cameras.

I am still experimenting with camera positions and angles in the new spot, trying to keep the cameras low and fairly close in to get good pictures.  Here is one of the hazards!

The cubs investigate OtterCam

For the past week I have been experimenting with a new camera position and it has already turned out to be very exciting.  On the first, rather misty night there was one camera in position and the otters obviously found it quite intriguing.  Fortunately no damage was done although it was knocked slightly out of position.

The next night the camera was still pointing down but one of the cubs came and rolled around right next to it.

After this I put in a second camera and the first cub came to have look at both, again on a wet misty night.  It was having a drink of water through a hole in the bridge when mum turned up.

On the next night the dog otter came to have a look.  At first he didn't like it at all and went straight back into the water but seconds later he was feeling a bit braver and came back for a second and closer look.

The last video is the only daytime recording so far.  The cameras must look a lot more scary in daylight as neither of the cubs nor their mother wanted to get close this time.

The otters' reaction to the cameras is interesting to compare with foxes (which turn away as soon as they see one) and badgers (which don't notice the light but usually don't like my scent). It is also interesting to see how the otters are curious at night, when they can only see the red light but very wary in the day when they can see the cameras.  I hope they will just get used to the cameras being here and I hope to have more videos from this new position soon.