Otter spotting

17 January 2010

(By Lizzie)
Rich and I braved the icy waters this morning and launched our kayaks for the first time in a couple of months.

It was a beautiful gentle day in our sheltered bay and wonderful to be back on the water. As we rounded Rhuba Dubh (‘Black Rock’, the far south end of the bay) we saw a little black head sparkling in the sunshine about 20 yards off, and assumed it was a seal – perhaps the young cheeky one we’ve often seen playing around outside our house recently. It popped down again and I didn’t take much notice; I was busy fussing with my skeg in an attempt to get up into the increasing wind.

The next time I looked up a small sleek body had popped up right in front of Rich’s boat; not a chubby seal but an otter! We stopped paddling of course, but he’d got quite an unwelcome surprise and slinked away fairly quickly; a slick black rounded back, followed by a thick strong tail, disappearing into the deep.

Brilliant. (I'm just sorry I haven't got any photos to add!)