Well September has been a month like no other recently, for photographing the Edinburgh otters, on the Water of Leith. This is down to a mother and two cubs being out and about a lot, on the water in September. With the low water levels, these otters are easier to see, as they work their way along the river. The cubs are often splashing around, play fighting, darting off in opposite directions. This can make life difficult for the mother who is trying to teach them how to hunt and feed, without drawing attention to themselves.
There has also been another female otter that has been collecting nesting materials and we are hoping to see some more otter cubs very soon… fingers crossed! And finally, there have been two other single otters observed but I have been unable to determine whether they are male or female. This is a snapshot from this month and only covers the area from the Colinton Tunnel to the mouth of the river at Leith. It doesn’t take into account any otters coming in from beyond the tunnel or down from the canal – it is an ever changing picture.
I have been on the Water of Leith most days this month and I was delighted to see a wee albino squirrel appear on a number of occasions. There are varying theories about how many albino squirrels are in Scotland and I have seen figures like 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 100,000. I can confirm that it is definitely not as low as 1 in 100,000, as we only have 300,000 squirrels in Scotland. This would suggest that there are only 3 albinos in Scotland which is not the case. I recorded at least 12 different sightings, within a 12 month period throughout Scotland, last year. This research came from Twitter, Facebook & Instagram but the figure is likely to be higher. I would suggest 1 in 10,000 is a more accurate guesstimate which would imply that there are apx. 30 of them in Scotland – seems a bit more realistic.
Plenty of other creatures on the Water of Leith this month such as dippers, herons, grey wagtails, swans, foxes & roe deer. The birds that really stood this month were the kingfishers and I have seen them every day, on all parts of the the river this month. Keep your eyes peeled!
Here are some photos from this month.
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