Spring 2002 No. 12

Page 8

Otter Dot Com

The Otter Group now has a website.
The main site is found at Http://www.DorsetOtterGroup.org.uk. Covered on the site is information on otters, river ecology, surveying, volunteering, other groups and more…

I aim to combine a wealth of material from newsletters, survey guides and leaflets with video and pictures into a useful web resource. The site should act not only as an introduction to the group, but also as a point of reference and inspiration to our members. Clive Martin’s video footage of Dorset otters has been digitised and is posted on the site to download and view. The latest distribution maps are also available to view.

I also hope to collate pictures of Dorset otter field signs and the work of volunteers. I have included links to other otter groups that have websites.
So take a look and email me with any comments. DarrenFanner@DorsetOtterGroup.org.uk

Darren Fanner

Otters in the West

On paper at least, the five main rivers and their associated tributaries in our west Dorset area seemed absolutely ideal for otters. The River Yeo, River Char, River Brit and River Bride all offer well-wooded banks with a multitude of dense impenetrable places. While the River Axe, the largest of the area’s rivers, provides some of the quietest stretches of main river in the county. Added to this the close proximity of otter infested Devon, surely a mere evening’s paddle away and we were all quietly confident that our patch would prove highly profitable.

So back in 1998 off we went into darkest corners of west Dorset, trained noses and collecting pots at the ready. Many a brush with the west Dorset nettle, many a flailing from the cruellest of thorns and at least one complete emersion latter and we had proved beyond doubt we were all sadly mistaken. The Rivers Brit, Char and Bride were all negative. Only the folks within the River Yeo catchment found what they sought, while tantalisingly a single precious spraint was recovered from the Axe. By the 1999 season things were getting worse, with the year’s surveys only yielding the occasional hard won spraint from the River Yeo. Not surprisingly throughout the west people were getting desperate, while my post got more and more worrying. The thought of the skinned ex-freshly dead frog that flopped from the envelope on to my desk at this time still brings tears to the eyes. Still although one skinned frog didn’t make an otter there at least seemed to be some hope.

In an effort to keep noses honed exchange visits were arranged to other more productive areas, many sought solace on the Frome while others headed north to the promise of the Axe. It was now, however, abundantly clear that otters were not simply moving east from Devon but would have to colonise the isolated west via far more circuitous routes from the Frome or down from Somerset via the Axe and Yeo. The West’s rivers would it seemed be some of the last in Dorset to be re-colonised.

Spraints found in 1999 on the small tributary that runs across Powerstock Common, only a stone’s throw from the Brit catchment, suggested that the Frome otters would make it first. Wrong again, for by 2000 otters were “rampaging” up and down the River Char, most probably colonising from the Axe, while the more easterly River Brit remained stubbornly otter free. Even the unlikely looking River Bride managed to turn up the odd spraint. Since then, although activity on the River Bride comes and goes the Char otters continue to rampage and there continues to be a steady stream of records from both the Axe and Yeo. Only recently have things looked up for the poor River Brit. First there were a few casual records and then, with fresh surveyors in place, records started popping up on both the Brit and the Mangerton, its tributary. It now finally seems that otters have returned to the Brit. There seems every chance that otters will now do well in our patch, who knows one of us may one day actually see one!

John Stobart

Needed, Volunteers on the Brit!

The Dorset Otter Group’s representation on the River Brit has been ‘patchy’ (a bit like the otters). This means that our knowledge of the Brit is also patchy. If you know of anyone who would be interested in surveying on the Brit or if you would like a couple of sites please let me or Elizabeth James, the West Dorset Area Co-ordinator know. Please do not, however abandon any current sites you are surveying for the Brit, consistency of results is more important. If you are passing the Brit any casual records would be most welcome.

Bronwen Bruce

Contributions for the next Newsletter to:
Peter Irvine,
34 Bryanston Street,
Blandford,
Dorset
DT11 7AZ