Otters in the Evenlode

Tue 3 Feb 2015, 13:48

How lovely---I will keep a look out and hope for the best. Have only ever seen otters once----we were eating sandwiches by a little cove on Shetland and two sea otters came out and scampered around on the sand.

Tue 3 Feb 2015, 12:34

This is really excellent news - thank you to everyone for these reports.

Mon 2 Feb 2015, 17:56 (last edited on Mon 2 Feb 2015, 17:57)

When the phrase "many moons ago" appears in the same thread as "I Googled" it makes me feel very old!

Mon 2 Feb 2015, 17:48

I saw two otter last week up at the weir, I was standing on the bridge and they got out at the weir, climbed down the side and then continued down river. It was really lovely to see them so close up.

Mon 2 Feb 2015, 15:03

Refer to my posting "many moons ago".
An otter swam past me (no more than 3 metres away) when I was fishing on the Evenlode at Chilson. It left the river and disappeared into a thick area of stinging nettles about twenty metres away and soon after, I heard lots of squeaking noises from the same area of nettles.
When I got home I Googled "young otters noises" and the noise was exactly the same. So, not only are otters residing on the Evenlode, they are also breeding.
On further visits to the same area, I have clearly seen what appear to be otter footprints on the embankment.

Mon 2 Feb 2015, 10:30

Two years ago I saw otter spraint about a kilometer upstream from Charlbury and later found a dead otter caught in a crayfish trap. I helped someone from the Environment Agency recover the body but heard no more from them. I paddle upstream with the Canoe Club each week and keep an eye out for signs of otters but have seen nothing recently. Now the water level is up I will inspect the downstream stretch around Cornbury when it is a bit warmer.

Sun 1 Feb 2015, 14:21

One of my sons insists he clearly saw an otter just downstream from the bridge on Dyers Hill a few months ago.

Sun 1 Feb 2015, 09:09

Over the past few months I have seen strong evidence of otter habitation in the Evenlode around Charlbury. I have also heard from several people they have seen one and sometimes two together. I have seen these amazing creatures in the wild before and am very excited they have chosen our part of the river as home. I would be interested in hearing about other sightings and what we can do to encourage them to stay and prosper.