My otters
The title of this word flurry eludes to the overwhelming sense of ownership I have with my beloved otters. Of course, they are not mine, or yours, or even Dave’s but I have been visiting the west coast of Scotland for decades now and finding otters has always been priority number one of those trips. Priority number two of course is dodging bastard midges.
Where
In particular, over the last 3 years I’ve been visiting a tiny isolated island called Torsa, just 40 mins drive south from Oban on the west coast of Scotland. The west coast is by far the best place to find these otters as their activity is dependant on the tides vs their river dwelling counter parts which are much more elusive. These coastal otters prefer areas of shoreline with plenty of rocky outcrops, loadsa kelp and access to fresh water. If you happen across loadsa otter shite (spraint for those die-hard Attenboroughlings out there) then you should make a note as that could be near the entrance to a holt or den. It’s super hard to pinpoint the exact location of an otter’s den as they move about so much and can often have multiple dens within a 20km territory. On this particular trip, my mum found a den with a mum and pup. We set up a night cam and caught the action which was excellent as it proved her right!
Check out the ‘how’ section to learn how to get this close without bothering ‘em
When
Over the years I have learned that otters are most active 2-3 hours before or after low tide. Something about the ebb or flood must aid them in their fishing especially as the fish tend to hide closer to shore at that time to shelter from predation. That’s not to say you won’t see them outside that window, they often shag outside of that window and as everyone knows, feeding time ain’t shaggin’ time. Otters are active all year round but my favourite times to see them are in spring and autumn. The light is generally a bit more epic/directional for photography but also you avoid the asshole midge season of summer. Bastards
Crab getting absolutley destroyed
How
I dunno if you’ve ever seen squid games… but I have developed an ottergraphic technique that involves being extremely speedy when the otters dive (up to 90 secs), and then maximum still and stealthy when they’re above water. This way you can get closer to your subject without disturbing them. It’s important to remain down wind as they’ll smell your stinky ass from a mile off. They’ve got famously bad eyesight so keeping a literal low profile, with a rock or tree behind you always helps, and if you get the timing and direction right, you can often get set up in front of their path and they’ll come to you. I promise this works and you can see multiple videos on my socials innit.
