The Otter

Here is my first wildlife blog post!

Anyway, I was at the East Coast Nature Reserve in Newcastle, Co. Wicklow on Saturday. The weather was good for November, not windy. It was the end of the afternoon just before sunset, and me and Dad saw stonechats for the first time. We also briefly saw a goldfinch near the beginning of the reserve trail. We came to the first birdwatching hide and saw a group of mallards.

Then, with our binoculars, we saw reeds moving and ripples in the river in the background. Dad called me to say he saw an otter’s head appearing on the surface. We waited for the otter to become visible for a long time. During this time, a heron became visible, perhaps it was startled by the otter. Once the otter came onto land, it ran into the reeds and remained invisible for a few minutes. It soon came towards us and began to swim in the ditches. It eventually startled the ducks!

Dad says he believes the otter to be a young adult and Mum says it was like watching Jurassic Park! I saw the otter two days after my birthday, so it was a great late birthday present. I definitely felt privileged as I did not expect to see a nocturnal mammal at all.