Tragedy has struck!!

In my never ending efforts to capture footage of the otter swimming down the Ouseburn, I set up one of our WildPlaces Moultrie motion activated cameras underneath a bridge on a golf course in Newcastle upon Tyne. The very weekend that I found this brilliant spot, it decided to rain. And rain. And rain. Cue me, on a very early Monday morning, up to my waist in muddy river water trying to rescue the camera. I shouldn't have bothered! The only sign of life was a very determined laser beam shining out of the camera and a final, blurred picture of the water rising over the camera. Muddy river water dripped from every possible crevice. A thorough drying out did no good either. As David, a fellow WildPlaces Officer pointed out "Once the circuit board has been submerged, there's no hope!" So, needless to say, the fast-becoming notorious Ouseburn Otter has evaded me again! My spirits were (briefly) lifted this morning when an otter swam into view of one of my more safely placed cameras on the banks of the Ouseburn. But, as I am fast learning, nothing is ever simple in the world of filming otters! A huge spider leg and a moth obscured the view of the otter playing right in front of the cameras (check this out below). And true to form, at 4am this morning as the otter made his way back home, it cunningly swam under the water, leaving me with only a few ripples and the distinct sound of an otter laughing .....

The photo above (by BBC Tyne) is to give me hope, reminding me of happier times when flooding did not concern me or my cameras and the Ouseburn Otter was captured, albeit under the shadow of a spider, on film. This camera still survives on the banks of the Ouseburn, watching and waiting. RIP Moultrie.