Nearly the Spring Equinox

Approaching the Spring equinox the days are getting longer, and as a result it is easier to see otters in daylight.   The trail camera recorded a female otter on the 2nd of March and again on the 7th by the cliff holt. There were also a couple of brief night-time appearances.  Below is the female on the 7th.

The holt seems to be a resting place; there are three paths to it from the shore, fairly heavily used given the amount of flattening and regular spraints and bones along the paths.   It is at the top of a small cliff and the entrance faces landward.   There is no fresh water nearby for an otter to wash off sea water.

Below is a sketch, not to scale, showing the paths around the holt - two involve a scramble up the cliff, whilst the third leads down more gently to the shore.   The centre picture is the entrance to the holt whilst the picture to the right shows one of the otter runs.

It has been wet and windy again recently and the ground is sodden.   I really need to be able to work on the vegetable plot but I will sink into mud at the moment.