Otter watching on the D.Stour at Christchurch.

[alan whittington]

I have just returned from a two week family holiday at Christchurch,Dorset,you know the routine,out doing family things during the day,slipping away in the evenings for a bit of fishing and peace and quiet,this year i had a slightly different experience,during the first week i saw lines of bubbles hurtling upstream against strong flows and strange noises when darkness neared,but on the second week i actually saw the culprits,otters,fleeting glimpses at first,but on the penultimate night of my break one had the gall to swim past 8m away just watching me before diving and leaving that tell tale trail of those bubbles,then on the last night i sat fishing opposite a line of trees on the caravan park stetch,when the water rocked by the trees,then the culprit appeared a 4-4.5 foot long 'dog' otter,this was at 7.20pm with kids playing in the park directly behind me,then it got more amazing,lots of the noises i'd heard previously started opposite,but also upstream,another angler who was chatting to me stolled up and called me to look and sure enough there were three more otters swimming in mid-river,but not only that,on the far bank there were signs of two others.What chance do our rivers stand against such an onslought and also,so much for the 5km required as territory for a pair,the bailiffs (one of which an old friend)tell me that it is estimated that around thirty animals are within 5-6kms of the park.

 

[Cakey]

I am glad the family of otters are doing ok
with 1000's of miles of waterways to fish I hope the anglers let em be

 

[Neil Maidment]

I assume you were near the the top of the tidal stretch - Throop Beat 3?

Otters have been resident down there since I was a kid and presumably a lot longer before that. That's never been a particular problem as the area could always support that.

But it seems the proliferation of Otters around that area upstream through and beyond Throop is upsetting the balance. There are more Otters and they are being spotted far more regularly, not just because of more human activity but perhaps because they are forced to change their habits and hunt more often in daylight to survive.

I have certainly seen more Otters in the last three or four years than in all my formative years downs there (and I used to live just a few hundred yards from Throop).

 

[alan whittington]

Im not suggesting drastic measures Cakey,just that ive fished the area for many years and ive never seen otters before and ive been at this time for the last four years,Neil,you know the area more than me,as im only a visitor,but i dont miss much wildlife wise and what happened on the last night of my holiday was unprecedented,the noise the otters made was only surpassed by the kids playing,both seemed totally oblivious to each other,quite an amazing experience,the other angler didnt even know otters were on the river.

 

[tigger]

What chance do our rivers stand against such an onslought :

talk some sense man, you sound like the world is coming to an end

 

[alan whittington]

talk some sense man, you sound like the world is coming to an end

I thought that if you had read both posts you realise i am talking sense,bearing in mind that i was told there is another family of otters at Iford(not far),i was making a point that i'd had an unusual experience.Sorry Neil,yes beat three just above(and below) the weir area.
My statement on how the fish are coping comes from being told by bailiffs that barbel and chub carcasses were found by golfers on the course.Our world may not be coming to an end,but the fish's on the Stour might be changing dramatically.

 

[tigger]

I thought that if you had read both posts you realise i am talking sense,bearing in mind that i was told there is another family of otters at Iford(not far),i was making a point that i'd had an unusual experience.Sorry Neil,yes beat three just above(and below) the weir area.
My statement on how the fish are coping comes from being told by bailiffs that barbel and chub carcasses were found by golfers on the course.Our world may not be coming to an end,but the fish's on the Stour might be changing dramatically.

Alan, if the river can't support the Otters then they'll just naff off elsewhere down river, up river across land to some other water etc. They'll never empty a river as some people seem to beleive, don't worry m8 the fish will be ok, unless there's a pollution incident or people start to net the fish or summot.

 

[captain carrott]

Alan, if the river can't support the Otters then they'll just naff off elsewhere down river, up river across land to some other water etc. They'll never empty a river as some people seem to beleive, don't worry m8 the fish will be ok, unless there's a pollution incident or people start to net the fish or summot.

ah but telling people this and even proving it scientifically will not change the opinions of those who hold to that belief.

 

[Cakey]

just watched Halcyon River
150 baby stickleback wiped out by a shoal of minnows then kingfishers wiped them out
not an otter in sight ...........they were busy eating baby ducks

 

[Paul Boote]

Some Americans - BBC iPlayer - Nature's Great Events: The Great Salmon Run - seen in the Arrivals Hall at Heathrow earlier today, asking "Say, can you direct us to the Stour River, please. We're here to support some otter buddies of ours..."

 

[cg74]

just watched Halcyon River
150 baby stickleback wiped out by a shoal of minnows then kingfishers wiped them out
not an otter in sight ...........they were busy eating baby ducks

I do think the highlighted word needs replacing with a singular tense word and not a plural one.

Chinese whispers and all that, might be suggested that Alan's friends estimation of the otter population has fallen foul of the same scenario.

I mean 30 otters divided by 6000 metres of river = an otter every 200m and bearing in mind they eat a pound of flesh a day.
Also worth a mention, the Dorset Stour has no signal crayfish to supplement their dietary needs and the river is renowned for its big fish.... I'd say if true, not a changing river but an empty one!!

 

[904_cannon]

1. [ame=http://vimeo.com/12650486]Harry Otter has eaten his barbel on Vimeo[/ame]

 

[Cakey]

whatever..................

 

[Paul Boote]

I am off out to my local offie to buy a couple cans of cider (low strength). The shop is 150 yards away along a well-lit semi-suburban road, yet a gravel-bedded ditch, the remnants of a tiny stream, runs beside it for 60 of those yards. I'm taking a stout stick with a couple of four-inch nails driven through the blunt end, just in case the otters have found their way here...

 

[tigger]

1. Harry Otter has eaten his barbel on Vimeo

PML everytime I watch that

 

[captain carrott]

PML everytime I watch that

but to be fair, it perfectly describes a lot of people on this site

 

[Steve Spiller]

Gaymers or Strongbow Paul?

The in-thing now is to rescue the runts that mum kicks out of the holt and rear them, re-introduce them, nothing illegal there.........

I wonder if mother nature sees it that way?

 

[Paul Boote]

Just dreary old black-and-gold Strongbow - they don't sell proper cider round my way. I've just poured the thing into a pint glass and am taking a first sip NOW...........

 

[Steve Spiller]

Paul, look out for Thatchers or some proper Scrumpy

 

[alan whittington]

Hey the Stour is full of roach,dace,gudgeon and minnows(obviously the cormorants have plenty to eat elsewhwere),i only visit occasionally,but when you live somewhere,you notice changes,its still a great place to fish,just thought i'd relate my experiences over my hols.As a matter of interest how many people posting have seen a wild otter in daylight(or anytime come to that)on their river?