I know they are here, but can I FINALLY photograph them?

I have just got back from a 4-week sailing trip on the west coast of Scotland with Tim and Skylar. While up there, I was able to get out and about with the camera and on one loch that we anchored on, I spotted my first ever otter!

To make the most of our sighting, Tim and I popped into the dingy and set off to photography it. The tide was very low, so we kept our distance and made our way to an area of dried out loch bed, where we could watch the otters at a distance as not to disturb them.

I hadn’t brought the tripod with me, so using Tim as a secure base for my camera I was able to get some distant images and video clips (all at 600mm in the aps-c mode of the camera, so an effective focal range of 900mm). It was amazing to see the otters, and yes that’s plural, as our original otter swam down the loch and for a shot time was with a second otter! It was amazing to finally get to see these beautiful animals after trying to for so long.

The following day, I got up at 5am to make the most of the morning and the sightings from the previous evening. I rowed myself to shore and set off with my binoculars to try and find and photograph the otters.

I set off down the edge of the loch, towards where we had seen them the previous night, down by where the river met the loch. (I had also done some research online and at this location, this was where they were often seen). On the walk down, there was not much in the way of photography opportunities. The loch was full of fish jumping to catch the insects that flew above the water, and there were distant guls and herons, over the other side of the loch.

Once I had walked as far as I could down to the river, it was time to sit and wait, and cross my fingers. I was fortunate enough that the famous Scottish midges were not active this morning, so was able to sit in peace, even if it was an incredibly uncomfortable rock I was situated on and behind.

I waited for over an hour, but unfortunately there was no movement on the wildlife front, as we were moving on from this anchorage, I needed to get back to the boat, so reluctantly, I headed back to the boat with no sightings.

10 days later, we found ourselves back in the same loch, and with the weather dry, I made the most of it and once again headed off to try and see if I could see the otters. I headed straight down to the river, after not seeing anything with the binoculars on my walk down, and set up on the banks of the loch. I had brought a pillow with my this time to help save my butt from the wet and uncomfortable ground, though I do wish I had remembered to bring my folding seat pad from home, as that would have been ideal.

As it was early afternoon, the skies around this area of the loch, were full of swallows, sand martins and house martins, hunting for insects over the water. So while I waited for the otters to hopefully show, I tried to photograph these small and rocket fast birds. I got lucky and the very first image I took was in focus, but I wanted to work on it and so over the next hour or so, I tried my best to get some images.

This was very hard to do, as they are so small in the frame and are like little rockets, but I did manage to get a few photos I am happy with. They did need all the cropping in post, as they were tiny in the frame, but this was a nice little experience as I waited on the loch.

After a while the birds moved off, and I was back to waiting for the otters, or indeed any other wildlife, to photograph. Unfortunately, this wasn’t meant to be and as the water rose, my hopes of seeing the otters dropped. All that I had researched online said that while coastal otters are more active at all hours of the day and not just at dawn and dusk, at high tide, they spend their time sleeping. And then what was left of my hopes were shattered as a group of people visited the hide on the opposite side of the river, with some very noisy children, who proceeded to walk all around the hide and on the rocks above the river shouting as they went. (I didn’t include this in the video, as I managed to film my chat to camera in timelapse mode).

At this point I had been out for over 3 hours, and it was trying to come in and rain, so I decided to call it a day and head back to the boat.

As it is with wildlife photography, you can’t magic the animals up to photograph, and while I wasn’t able to better the images and videos I had captured from our first sighting of the otters, it was still an amazing experience. This has fuelled my want to see the otters even more, and I cannot wait to get back to Scotland in September, where I am off on a dedicated photography holiday to see the otters as well as some of the other stunning wildlife this part of the country has to offer.