Winnall Otters
17 October 2011
Having watched otters successfully in the Shetlands - they can be watched during the day there - and having read quite a lot about just how difficult it is to observe them in the river networks down south. After all its a bit of a journey to have to travel up to Shetland to see them especially when we are told we have them on out own doorstep. So, with a bit of effort - I like a challenge - I resolved to A) Try to identify tracks and signs more locally to Winchester. B) Use that information to see if I could actually get to observe a real Hampshire Otter for myself. Not an easy task although I did manage to find some signs of otters in and around Winnall Moors. Sometimes its difficult though because there is so much disturbance from people, dogs and other forms of wildlife it can be hard if not impossible to build up a good picture of exactly where they go, what they do and when. Access to the river bank is also next to impossible around winchester because most of it is private or has very restricted access.
However I persevered for several months and eventually whilst out late one evening in September 2011 I decided to amble past a location I'd identified earlier, where I knew there was a lot of fish activity and thought this must be a good location for otters , its like an otter larder. I wasn't expecting to see anything but then all of a sudden I heard a noise, it sounded just like a seal when it surfaces for air, they expel air through the nose a bit like a sneeze. I turned on my flashlight and pointed it at the river and to my amazement there was an otter calmly swimming about, twisting and turning in the water, sifting thought the silt in the river bed looking for small fish to eat. It was no more than 1/2m away and wasn't bothered by my presence in the slightest. What a thrill, I'd hope to see one but this was almost pure chance really, I had thought the site on the edge of Winnall Moors look promising but it seemed a bit of a long shot.
Subsequently I have been able to observe the otter fishing in the same location on two more occasions and on the third managed to capture this image using the flash to illuminate the scene just to prove it wasn't my imagination. The otter wasn't at all bothered by the flash and continued to hunt without a care in the world until a sudden distant noise caused it to drive and varish like a ghost into the night.
Chris Prior
