The Fish Island Kingfisher

The rain has finally calmed in it's tirade against the North East but yesterday was still a sad day for all. David arrived in Gosforth to dismantle the cameras that have become quite at home in Bob's back garden. After about six weeks of otter pursuing, I'm afraid to say that I have given up (kind of). Well, on the big camera system at least. I have changed my tactic to more stealth, more Ouseburn Otter caught unawares. So, the big cameras have come down and in their place is one stealth camera. Under a bridge. On a golf course (as you all know). This probably means that Fish Island will now be teeming with otters whereas the only mammal it was teeming with before was rats. Go figure. Interestingly enough, Fish Island does have a new resident - a kingfisher! This particular kingfisher has defied all evolutionary logic and taken to diving for its dinner off the island (rather than the more traditional branch or perch). I'm glad that something is getting good use out of that island!

So yes, stealth cam 500 is up and running which now means I spend most of my early mornings flattened under the lowest bridge in history, face level with the most otter spraint that I have seen in my life! I can only thank the otter gods that it is the odour of jasmine tea dangerously close to my mouth rather than the foul smelling poo of some other animal. While there is a frustratingly large amount of spraint under this bridge, there is a frustratingly small amount of otter footage on my camera (try none). This is because the Ouseburn Otter is smart. And sneaky. Although I have set the camera up and made sure that it is well wedged and going nowhere, so far I have slithered up to a camera that is face down, recording images of dirt. How does the otter do this?! I just know that my Friday afternoon is going to be spent building an otter-proof contraption so I can rest easy over the weekend, knowing that the Ouseburn Otter will not get the better of me again!