Unst Otters

Back in May I spent a week on the Shetlands, staying on Unst, the northernmost island in the UK.

Over the next few weeks, I will blog some of the sightings and my experiences whilst there.
I stayed on a farm close to my friend, Robbie Brooks, who lives in the lovely community of Baltasound.




I was very fortunate to discover that a family of otters lived close by, and on my first morning after I arrived, I made my way to a likely looking spot along the shore line, set myself up and waited.

I can't actually recall how long I sat in my spot, but with such peaceful surroundings, it could have been hours. I spotted movement and the next thing, two otters appeared over the rocks and started to hunt and feed in front of me. The pair were a mother and her cub, and having fed, they settled down on the rocks in front of me for a sleep.

My first ever attempt at otter watching, and I've got a paor of them feeding in front of me, and now settling down for a kip !
For the rest of my week on Unst, I spent many hours sitting on the rocks, watching the tide and waiting for the otters to appear - which, fortunately for me, they did.


This shot was taken after I crawled down the beach to get closer and the otter swum right up in front of me with a crab, and proceeded to eat it within feet of where I was lying. Not a bad experience to have had at my first attempt.....