Otters have a habit of putting in an appearance when you least expect them. It may be their natural inquisitiveness. This morning’s Otter was a case in point. All four of us were walking upstream on the Common. As usual there were several conversations going on at once, and whilst our attention was diverted, the Otter surfaced for a few seconds before submerging and leaving a trail of bubbles as it disappeared. But that few seconds was enough. We had been Otter-less, or at least lacking in sightings, for a few months. Perhaps they were not in the area or maybe they were keeping a low profile whilst rearing young. Now they were back. All we need to do is to not expect to see them, not worry about how much noise we make and then we should see them again.
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A June Otter
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Young Greys in the garden
The arrival of young Grey Squirrels in the garden has been a recent highlight for the whippets. The young Greys are vandals of the first order. Only the anti-squirrel bird feeder has survived their ingenious robbery. But they are thorough and they cannot resist picking up the last spilled kernel from the ground. This is what the whippets wait for. A marauding dash through garden furniture and other obstacles to the foot of the tree. The squirrels escape, but they always climb to such a height that seems to infer that dogs might be able to climb trees one day.
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Cuckoo’s last hurrah
June has proved to be such a changeable month. There is no pattern in the weather. Nothing is settled. This is reflected in the behaviour of birds. On Monday morning, for example, the fine early morning was heralded by the constant call of the Cuckoo. And not from just one direction – the calls seemed to be from Oxnead at one minute, from the Town field the following and from Burgh the next. At the time is sounded like a last hurrah and since then it’s calls have been absent or at the very most sporadic. My suspicion is that the job is done and the Cuckoo must now concentrate on building up energy again for the long trip south. This is not so far away.
