Late summer and still together

Each year working on otters here in Shetland I get to know many families, their routines and the ranges they use. Its crucial to the trips we run that I keep up to date with each of the sites I use and each family in those ranges around the isles.

This particular mum and two cubs, one of three families along one particular stretch of shore I work, have stayed together well over a year now. One of these families the cubs are now actually coming up on 16 months old and not surprisingly spending long periods away from mum but these guys are slightly younger, still under a year old.

Spent a few hours with them throughout which enjoyed an insight to their daily routine; foraging, , grooming, resting and for the cubs, some play. Unfortunately they were always quite a distance away so the images I managed needed quite a crop- that's often just how it is with photographing otters, the terrain can sometimes offer opportunity to stalk or crawl closer but this open shore constrains that. Beautiful to watch.

 

 Mum lands a sea scorpian with one of cubs in hot pursuit. Interestingly this family in particular seem to specialize in this particular prey with mum catching several good sized every time Iv'e been with them this summer.

A good old rough and tumble after foraging and feeding, minutes after this, they were fast asleep, which was my time to retreat.

I then continued along the shore to the far end of the range where I suspected one of the other families would be and found them just starting to snuggle down to sleep off a foraging session.

A long awaited 'fix'....

Its a strange concept to get used to for any photographer; making photographs happen but not actually taking any! This is of course a small price to pay of course, being out in the field on a weekly basis, very often daily even, in an environment you love and with a species you adore. But that's just how it is when you lead photographers and make a living around leading tours.
Its a feeling anyone in a similar position will know well- the desperation that builds and builds to get out with your own camera again and man what a buzz when you do. This is how I felt to get out on my own  recently after several weeks leading and enjoying some superlative otter photo opportunities for guests- what its all about of course and I'm luck to be so busy doing so.
Here's a sequence from one of several families I have been working on this summer. It was so good to spend a couple of hours with them.

A Marigold moment...

Not something I manage to do very often- in fact Iv'e never actually nailed a shot of an otter amongst, alongside or even near Marsh-marigolds. I say 'nailed', I haven't really done so at all here but never the less, was pleased to capture a frame or two of an otter alongside a blaze of beautiful marsh-marigolds in a freshwater stream. It makes such a difference to the usual 'conventional' seaweed shoreline habitat they are usually captured in here.
So many times when out working with otters in spring I see spots where my camera trap would work so well or imagine setting up one of my hides to wait out the opportunity of a shot- its not a shot you see anywhere really which illustrates how hard a shot it is to get.
Not quite what Iv'e dreamed of but hay ho....

A close encounter

Photographing, or at least, had been photographing a mother and her two cubs until they returned to their holt. Whilst waiting to reappear this dog turned up on the scene. A brief sniff at the holt entrance  was met with an abrupt send off by mother.
He continued on, following the shore some 40 yards to in front of where I was hiding amongst the cover of some boulders. Without knowing I was there, he landed right infront of me on the shore, took a few steps up the beach where he sprainted then continued along his circuit of his range, seemingly unaware I was ever there. It was typical of such a close encounter, when your out of site and scent, when their eyes feel like they are right on you but yet they don't actually see you. He ended up too close to focus with my 500mm. I just sat tight and stayed silent.

Catching up on recent otter encounters, a sequence from recent trip where we spent a couple of hours with this family. Although it was a howling gale, up to force nine at times, these two cubs, guided by their mother, carried on with their day none the less. It was a strange day to be out with otters with the battering wind and yet it was a beautiful blue sky day.

Much of the time we were with them the mother was away foraging but before she had left the cubs on the shore, we had taken our time to move into a good position before they returned to shore. We were in this particular encounter for an hour, the two cubs, playing, grooming and of course sleeping, unaware of us hiding in the shadows of the bank.  

With an onshore wind and early morning sunrise from over your shoulder, the light was beautiful on the cubs, almost at times too golden on their drying gingery brown fur. This time of morning and wind direction is perfect not only as the low angle shines wonderfully on them but also offers a great deal of cover in the shadows of the bank, making it even less likely for an otter to see you.

Otters in early morning Shetland spring light

A couple of images of an early morning encounter we had a couple of weeks back guiding for Tony Davison. I'm out leading an itinerary again this week too so not much time at desk in evening to catch up.
This was one of three families we spent time with that day. A mum and three cubs along a stretch of shore I don't tend to visit very often, the shoreline is not conducive to good angles for photography and there is very little in the way of a bank to hide against/under.

On there way back to a lie up among boulders, mum and two of her three cubs 

A very busy and otter filled winter- catching up

I hardly know where to start- its probably been my most frustrating but yet busiest and exciting winters to date. Iv'e been 100% committed to a very big project so my time out with my own camera, or anything else,  has been, well lets say zilcho! Its been good and steady with otter trips too, I've been leading in each month of the winter so have been out with otters most weeks and we have enjoyed fantastic encounters on all of them. Some have been photography and some for the full Shetland otter experience. Its been awesome for all guests on these as its one of the most successful breeding seasons for otters for several years at the sites I use at least.

But any way, its been a very busy winter, which is brilliant but man how I have missed getting out with my own camera.

One of my recent Shetland otter photography itineraries was for Tony Davison, who Iv'e known for many years from his birding trips to the isles in autumn, who has been planning to book me for years. We had a great week and because we know each other so well, Tony insisted I brought my own gear- something I don't do when guiding as I have a job to do and its not to take my own images- unless of course asked to- it would be rude to refuse! Here are a few images from that week.

We use the shore for cover to get into position where I know this mother and her dog cub will land on the shore for a grooming session, we are bang on time and in perfect position, low down in the shade of the bank. 

They move up the beach and as anticipated enjoy a grooming session together. 

A cutesie one, while the dog cub rolls on his back their paws meet as they reach out.


So this was one of the encounters, I will try to follow up soon with another from the same week. As usual you can find out about the otter tours at http://www.shetlandnature.net/otters/