Clever Otter

I should have known it would not be a good day when howling wind and lashes of rain greeted me on the golf course this morning. I was just so sure that the Ouseburn Otter would be captured on film, that I could finally put this mission to rest and find some other urban mammals to inconvenience with my cameras. How wrong was I? Pretty wrong. Pre-etty wrong. Things were looking good when I crawled into the tiny space under the bridge. For one, the camera was still there but (and this is exciting) there was also a mountain of fresh spraint - a sure sign that I'd got the little critter on film. So I rushed back to the Trust, chanting "GOTCHA!" all the while and looking like a right loony to the other drivers. This is all I got. Now I know I've never seen the Ouseburn Otter fully and clearly on film but I think it's safe to say that this aint him!

Yep, just the badger and the fox that I already knew was on there. And to top it all off, the time and date on the camera has a mind of its own - I promise that this isn't from 2008 (when I had absolutely no idea of the torment the Ouseburn Otter would cause). But my real mistake? A simple schoolboy error that Iwill be kicking myself for many weeks (well, lets be realistic - months, maybe years) to come - I let the batteries run out and the Ouseburn Otter ran in, undetected. Again. Clever, clever otter. Silly, silly me.

A water-filled welly...

My week started with a much anticipated (and dreaded, if I'm honest) visit to the golf course to put Stealth Cam 500 back in its rightful place. Failing to build some amazing otter-proof contraption on Friday, I thought it best to take the camera home with me over the weekend and figure something out. Cue me sending a desperate text message to Bob, cursing the Ouseburn Otter and all things otter-ish. Now, as I'm sure you have all figured out by now, Bob is a hero. Not only has he rescued my cameras from a watery grave, built Fish Island in the middle of the Ouseburn and dispatched of a number of fame hungry spiders for me, he has now come to my rescue re constucting an otter-proof contraption. In reply to my plea for help over the weekend, Bob came up with the idea of building an otter-proof plinth. Yes, a plinth! So now Stealth Cam 500 is proudly sitting under the smallest bridge in the history of bridges on it's very own throne. And it hasn't been knocked down once this week. Amazing. I do, however, have a confession to make. I have grown wise over these past weeks and now when on shuffling under the smallest bridge in the history of bridges, I am kitted out in waterproof trousers, coat and wellies. This has made me careless. I soon learnt that waterproofs and wellies do not a dry person make. You see, I underestimated the Ouseburn and tried to cross it (clearly to get to the other side!). It gobbled me up like a river possesed and left me with a wellington full of smelly water and an extremely soggy sock. The acrobatics I performed that day on the golf course to get only one foot wet were second to none. Add to this the leaves and mud in my hair and goodness knows what else from under that bridge and you can imagine the kind of mood I was in when I arrived in the office. I would now like to take this opportunity to thank Kirsty for the loan of her lovely and dry stripey socks that day and for not mentioning the smell of river water emanating from my jeans. So yes, my confession. All this time I have been blaming the Ouseburn Otter for knocking over my camera and ruining my life when all along it was innocent (well, as innocent as the Ouseburn Otter can be). The creature causing all my under-the-bridge misery (and I have the evidence on film) has actually been a badger. But you see, badgers are neither sneaky nor particularly clever (when compared to the mastermind of the Ouseburn Otter) so I don't hold this against it. I still however do hold a grudge against the Ouseburn Otter. Why? Well you know all the mountains of spraint that I was practically eating for breakfast while finding Stealth Cam flat in the mud? This has now stopped and I have a horrible feeling that while Stealth Cam sits proudly on its plinth, the Ouseburn Otter is going to stop all visitations to the best sprainting spot he will probably ever know. Sorry Ouseburn Otter but your tricks just make me all the more determined to capture you on film and plaster your face all over the North East!

So this is how accommodating and well behaved an otter can be. Take note of how the 'Borough otters do it Mr O!

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!

Fish Island

In the latest quest to get the Ouseburn Otter to 'perform' in front of the cameras, Bob has built himself a fish island. That is, a mini island in the middle of the Ouseburn river to which Bob has pegged a large and rather delicious piece of fish. The idea is that the Ouseburn Otter will pass this island on one of his jaunts down the river and not be able to resist the lure of a free and very large meal. As discussed before, this large and prominent structure in the middle of the river should also prove irresistible to him (the otter not Bob), thus causing him to pose and frolick on said island, right in front of the cameras. I doubt the Ouseburn has ever offered something this good!

So far (one night), all that Fish Island has been able to attract is rats. So, on the learning side of things, who knows the difference between a rat and a watervole? Well, a water vole has small hidden ears while the rat (as seen in the video) has big ears - pretty easy to spot really. Water voles also have blunt noses (as opposed to a rats pointy one) and a shorter, furry tail (i'm sure you've all seen a rat in a petshop which has a long, pink, scaly tail). Less obvious differences include a water vole's fur which is silky and midbrown (a wild rat's is more grey) and on jumping into the water, a watervole makes a distinctive 'plop' sound. Why is this important? Well, water voles have disappeared from almost 90 per cent of the sites they occupied in the UK in the last 60 years, a fact which we can all do something about. Although American mink can largely be blamed for this decline, so can human interference - water voles are commonly mistaken for rats (hence the ID lesson above) and are prosecuted because of this. We have also had a lot to do with the destruction of their habitat and pollution of waterways, not making it easy for those water voles clever enough to outsmart the mink to survive. Lesson over but please try to remember these differences and think before you carry out any kind of 'pest control' near waterways.

The rain has (once again) set in so I think I'm going to have to pull on the old waders and the waterproof coat (once again) and go and rescue my cameras (once again). I can't bear the thought of Bob falling over that prickly, prickly hedge and heading downstream all for the sake of my cameras!

PS I hope that with your (perhaps) newfound knowledge you spotted the picture above is of a watervole and NOT a rat!

Why badgers are better ...

I have devised a plan to catch the Ouseburn Otter on film - no spider legs or sneaky underwater moves included! I will need 1 x bridge with prominent outcrop that the otter can't resist, 1 x super duper otter seeking infrared camera, 1 x relatively safe (and dry!) spot under said bridge and, most importantly, 1 x unsuspecting Ouseburn Otter. I think this master plan might just work. I have found the bridge with dry spot and prominent outcrop (thanks Bob), the camera is on its way as I type (thanks Cheryl) and the otter is unsuspecting (no thanks to the otter there!). A few days ago myself and Bob (who has the Ouseburn Otter frequenting the bottom of his garden) went on a bridge inspecting frenzy. We came up triumphant. Admittedly this bridge is in the same area that flood waters destroyed the Moultrie but it is far superior. Unless it rains for the biblical 40 days and 40 nights, I am almost certain that my camera will be safe. The 'prominent outcrop' that I keep mentioning is particularly important as it provides an irresistible spot for the Ouseburn Otter to spraint, which it already has on several occassions. For those not in the know, spraint is what we commonly call poo but it is so much more than that! Aside from the usual marking of territory, otter spraint lets other otters know about gender, social status - for example ­if a male is resident in his home range or is just visiting - or if female, whether the otter is ready to mate. In other words, spraint is a really important tool in otter communication and lets other otters know who has been where and how they are doing. Another interesting fact about spraint is that it actually smells quite pleasant! Jasmine tea, mown grass and honey are some of the words used to describe the smell. Anyway, enough about poo!

So yes, the scene is set and the camera will be put in place sometime next week - keep your fingers crossed that the Ouseburn Otter will finally be captured on camera with no water to hide itself and no spiders ruining my shots!

So now I come to why badgers are better. In a nutshell, all this ranting and plan devising above is precisely why I think badgers are better. They stick to the same paths, they squeeze under the same fence nearly every night, a few scattered peanuts and they're yours!! I don't mean to generalise and suggest that all badgers are this easy to win over but this has been my experience so far - much more predicatable than otters! And you would never catch a badger submerging itself in a river and swimming gaily out of sight.