The Chilson Otter(s).

Tue 28 Aug 2012, 11:18

As a very active angler I have seen Otters regularly on all the local rivers including the Evenlode. In fact its a fact that Otters have been very active on the Evenlode for several years now, but usually they only get seen by anglers at dawn and in the dusk / evening as they are generally quite shy and usually lay up in the day.

They are truly a lovely native wild animal to see, but sadly they are quite destructive predators, and take a heavy toll not just on fish (whose stocks are already under pressure from Cormorants & Signal Crayfish in particular) but also on birds such as Coots & Moorhens. There is even a distressing U-Tube clip around at present of an Otter killing a Heron!

Its great that they do eat Signal Crayfish but will make ZERO impact on their population, which is in the millions and goes in cycles. The Evenlode unfortunately, being a river with clay banks/bed, is perfect for Crayfish and will likely never be free of them. Another sad fact is the Signal Crayfish have caused the local extinction of the charming, harmless native White Clawed Crayfish, which used to be very common in Charlbury up until the 1980s.

Thu 23 Aug 2012, 17:00

Hugh Belshaw has mentioned seeing otters on the Evenlode a few years ago, and we saw one by the sewage works bridge about a year ago. There are no formal records of sightings though there are on the Windrush; let's hope they are breeding!

Wed 22 Aug 2012, 16:02

Paul, if you read my first contribution you will see that I did see an otter. It was light brown in colour and about a metre long. I have seen mink on the riverbank at Sonning and they are smaller and a much darker brown.
Although I did not see the "squeakers" my assumption was that they were young otters as the location was 20 metres from where I spotted the first otter.
Of course, the noise may have come from mink - I'll keep a close lookout on my next visit.

Wed 22 Aug 2012, 09:06 (last edited on Wed 22 Aug 2012, 16:43)

Chilson mink there is loads of mink on the river you see plenty of them runover nowadays and they play with each other making plenty of sound. I think what you have there is mink not Otters I have not heard of otters locally

Wed 22 Aug 2012, 08:16

Sorry to bore everyone with my exploits.
I returned to Chilson late yesterday morning for another spot of fishing and during late afternoon I heard sqeaking noises coming from nearby nettles and also saw some movement. No,not a courting couple!
I checked Youtube and sure enough the noises were those of young otters.
So, we have resident, breeding otters and not occasional visitors.
Incidentally, on each of my visits the fishing has been very good and I have not been pestered too much by the crayfish.

Mon 13 Aug 2012, 09:27

I saw an otter a couple of years ago in the Cherwell, at Cherwell Boathouse, on a lovely summer sunny afternoon. It was memorable wonderful sight. I agree with Simon with what he said, about otters. Signal crayfish are an invasive species, which eat our fish and destroy our river banks. Great to eat though, and can recommend a local licensed crayfish fisherman, if anyone wants to buy some. However, its interesting Charlie, you bring this up, about spotting rare mammals, as I saw a dead polecat on the Whitney road in Whiteoak Green, last week. I haven't seen a polecat for 20 years. I'm not sure about polecats eating crayfish, they love eating frogs and toads. Maybe my crayfish fisherman friend is doing well. I hope so, for the sake of our rivers, and fish.
www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/4189502.Polecats_make_Oxfordshire_their_home/

Sun 12 Aug 2012, 20:25

I understand the otter can swim up to 12 miles from its home seeking food, see www.mammal.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&id=231

Sun 12 Aug 2012, 07:16

I've fished twice at Chilson in the past couple of weeks and, like Stuart, have noticed the vast reduction in the numbers of crayfish.

Sat 11 Aug 2012, 23:19

Charlie you are very lucky to see one. Otters are in all our river systems throughout Oxfordshire. They are a sign of a healthy river ecosystem, and a mink's only known predator they will eat crayfish,and fish!

Fri 10 Aug 2012, 12:29

Well if they have got as far as Mill Field, it would explain the lack of crayfish this year compared to last!

Fri 10 Aug 2012, 11:26

Did a bit of fishing on the Evenlode on Wednesday 8th at Chilson and late in the afternoon an otter surfaced about 5 metres from me and then swam upstream.
Good for the environment or bad for the fish stocks? Any comments!!