Posted: Tuesday 5th December 2017 by DevonWildlifeTrust
Sarah eventually got her otter on camera
When Devon Wildlife Trust volunteer Sarah Butcher put up a trail camera she hoped to capture an image of an otter. In the event she got more than she bargained for!
Sarah writes...We first had a report of an otter at my local Devon Wildlife Trust nature reserve, Bystock Pools (near Exmouth), in early May 2017. So I decided to rig up my trail-camera in a likely spot, under a bridge which straddles a small weir at the edge of the reserve's famous reservoir. I then left it there for two months and waited to see what it would catch on camera.
What I was rewarded with was a range of wildlife: I got woodmice, moorhens, shrews, rats, ducklings and lots of crows, but frustratingly only glimpses of the backside of an otter, appearing every fortnight or so.
Eventually, in September, I retrieved the camera and repositioned it. After spray painting a 5 litre water bottle with matt black paint and attaching the camera to it I placed it under the bridge once more. It was then that I hit the jackpot.
This time it worked brilliantly (especially when camouflaged) although as autumn passed and winter came the camera became more obvious with the die-back of surrounding bracken. In fact it began to be spotted by people, some of whom even stopped to crawl under the bridge and pose for a selfie!
However, the important thing is that I eventually got exactly the otter photo I wanted (see the top of this page); proof that this elusive animal is a regular visitor to this wonderful nature reserve and not just a one off earlier in the year.
Like to know more?
- You can explore Bystock nature reserve in this short film
- Find out more about Devon Wildlife Trust's 50 nature reserves
- Learn more about Devon Wildlife Trust's work for nature
Read DevonWildlifeTrust's latest blog entries.
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