OTTERS!!!

This was the scene from Lillians hide at Leighton Moss shortly after two otters had just dived below the surface of the pool.

I was at Leighton Moss helping to lead the group of RSPB Wildlife Explorers who were there learning about spring migration. We had talked about which birds were on their way and where they had come from. We had seen a few swallows and both the male and female Marsh Harriers which had only arrived there a few days before. As we were about to leave we saw a large group of gulls flying over the mere as if they had been disturbed by something. I looked in the water below them and saw the unmistakeable silhouette of two otters swimming quickly from right to left and being mobbed by the gulls. Most people in the hide had excellent views of them as they broke the surface and disappeared several times. They then reached the far side of the pool and disappeared into the reedbed.

We returned to the centre excited at what we had seen and wanting to see more of what Leighton Moss had to offer.