Latest News – January 2025

January 31, 2025

January was all about the otters on the Water of Leith

First of all, fingers were crossed that we would not have a repeat to the start of the year, like last year, where we lost several cubs, in the Dec/Jan 2024 floods.  Thankfully this year started with nothing more than snow flurries in the hills. It was a frosty start but with blue skies for a good part of the month.

The mum with the two cubs in Territory 2 (Dean Village to Colinton) seemed to have done really well in January.  The mum was moving her cubs up and down the water and was being spotted, in one part of the river one day and then spotted 5 miles away, the next day.  It was clear that she was showing her cubs every part of her territory and the key fishing areas & pools.  Her cubs are now 5 months old and they have started fishing for themselves.

There was one report, with photographic evidence, that this mum and her cubs were spotted in Territory 1 (Leith to Dean Village).  With 2 weirs to negotiate in Dean Village, this is quite a feat for a couple of small cubs but I can only guess that they worked their way via the walkway &/or residential/public gardens during the night.  They are back in Territory 2 now & seem quite content there at the moment.

They may have moved into Territory 1 for two reasons.  Firstly, there was a second mum in territory 2 that had given birth in November and there is always the question if there is enough food for two otter families in the same territory.  Secondly, I haven’t seen the female from territory 1 now for several months, so this territory maybe available for a new family. So this territory will be the focus of my attention during Feb-April 2025.

I was keeping an eye on the second mum in Territory 2 that had given birth to cubs in November.  I had a date of 14 January when I expected the new otter cubs to make their first appearance from the natal holt.  Over the period from November to January 2025, she stayed close to the natal holt & was bringing in bedding and fish.  During the first 2 weeks in January, whilst we had little or no rain, there was a good amount of snow in the Pentlands.  On the 10 of January, the temperature went from around -5° to +12° overnight. This meant that there was a rapid snow melt and the water levels, recorded at SEPA’s Murrayfield station, went from 0.5m to 1.3m in a matter of hours.

I have no record of what happened next but the second otter mum no longer appeared to be at the otter holt area after 14 January.  Unfortunately, I eventually found her 2-3 miles upstream, without cubs on 16 January 2025.  So I have to conclude that she lost her cubs during the first 2 weeks of January – the most likely cause is the sudden high water levels on 10 January.

As February starts, I will continue to monitor the 5 month old cubs & their mum, over the coming weeks and months.  I will also be paying closer attention to finding the female otter from territory 1 and also the one in territory 3 (Colinton to Balerno & beyond).

As the kingfishers are also a protected species, like the otters, I also have the task of monitoring the kingfishers along the river, for the Water of Leith Conservation Trust.  During February, I will check the whole length of the water for these wee guys, as they begin to pair up for breeding season.

And Finally….it’s official, my photos are good enough for radio!!

BBC Radio Scotland was on the Water of Leith during the last week of this month.  Rachel Stewart, from the ‘Out of Doors’ programme on Saturday mornings, got in touch and asked if she could do an out door interview with me along the river.  Thankfully, the rain held off but the water levels were quite high after the snow melt, so not a lot of wildlife was seen.  We meandered up stream for a couple of hours, from Roseburn to the Water of Leith Visitor Centre, where Rachel then headed off with Helen Brown from the WoL Conservation Trust…. I’m just waiting for Helen to tell me they saw otters, foxes, badgers, kingfishers, etc!!!!!

And a big thank you…

Many thanks to all who came along to my talk at the Water of Leith Visitor Centre on Monday evening, 27 Jan 2025.  My thanks also goes out to Helen at the Water of Leith Conservation Trust for inviting me to speak for a second time in 12 months & also to Ruth & Kat for hosting the evening.  It was lovely to see, once again, the high level of interest in the local wildlife, as all tickets were snapped up very quickly for a second time.

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