Could you spot if an otter has been spending time by your local river?

Does this look like an otter print to you?

 

That was the focus of a citizen science training event in the Graney sub-catchment in Co. Clare delivered by Nature Network Ireland in partnership with Clare Local Development Company under the Clare LEADER Programme.

The event was part of a wider engaging training series designed to empower individuals and communities with the knowledge and tools needed to protect and enhance local biodiversity.

Through a blend of practical fieldwork, engaging talks and interactive learning, participants explore the value of biodiversity and how to conserve it in their local landscapes.

Here’s a video summary of the event on June 7th:

 

It started with a classroom presentation from ecologist John Armstrong, covering:

What is Citizen Science?

Citizen Science is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge.

Why is Citizen Science Important?

• Actively involves citizens in learning about scientific projects
• Helps increase understanding and connection to natural world
• It is a research approach (has limitations and biases)
• It involves citizens in data collection
• Larger data sets can improve our knowledge on species and habitat knowledge
• Can help drive policies and management practises

Challenges using Citizen Science:

• Participant Skill
• Variations in sampling/effort
• Over representation of rate species
• Under representation of common species
• Weather conditions
• Time commitments of participants
• Abundance estimates

 

It then moved onto a presentation on Otters.

Otters in Ireland (Lutra Lutra)

• Eurasian Otter
• Nocturnal
• Semi Aquatic
• Feed on Fish, crustaceans and small birds
• Normally 1m-1.5m long including tail
• Males larger than femails
• Weighs 7kg to 12kg
• Average age 3 years
• Near threatened (IUCN)
• Numbers are declining world wide
• High pitched whistle between a moth and cubs; twitters while play fighting; murmers between 2 adults; mewings.

Key Signs used to identify Otter presence: Spraint

• Otter Scat
• Communicate and mark territory
• Varies in colour but usually black
  • Greyish when not fresh
  • Reddish when crayfish in diet
  • Fishbones and scales visible
  • Smells grassy (some describe to smell like jasmine)

Key Signs used to identify Otter presence: Jelly

• Comes from anal secretions of digestive mucous, similar smell to spraint
• Another communication tool for marking territories when there is no food in the digestive system
• Can vary in colour – orange, brown, red, green

Key Signs used to identify Otter presence: Holts

• Dens used by otters. Within 1km of watercourse
• Usually found in naturally occurring holes such as among tree roots or in rocky banks
• Natal holts can be further from the watercourse, where a mother otter rears her young .There is no spraint marking this area.

Key Signs used to identify Otter presence: Couches

• Daytime resting places
• Flattened vegetation associated with spraint
• Usually 1m in diameter

Key Signs used to identify Otter presence: Slides and Paths

• Slides are areas where vegetation is worn away due to frequent use by animals entering the water
• Paths are trails of disturbed vegetation that an otter has travelled through.

Key Signs used to identify Otter presence: Prey Remains

• Fish leftovers / Bites taken out of fish
• Frogs heads
• Toad skins
• Claws, heads and legs of crayfish

Key Signs used to identify Otter presence: Tracks and Prints

• Five toes and small claws (sometimes only 4 toes imprint)
• Webbing in between toes
• Toes are rounded, tear drop shaped
• Long paw pads
• Up to 9cm long and 6cm wide

Information Source: Nature Network Ireland.

The classroom element concluded with a briefing on river safety and biosecurity before the field trip element. The group relocated to the mouth of the Bleach River into Lough Graney and walked up stream in search of signs of otter.

 

Waters of LIFE gave a summary of water quality along the Bleach River as well as all of the issues and pressures affecting the wider Graney sub-catchment including the Bleach River, Lough Graney, Corra River, Graney River and Dromindoora River.

Click here for a summary of water quality in the Graney sub-catchment.