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Otters

Phil Nixon

Phil Nixon

Senior Member & Supporter
Here is a copy of a text I received from one of our members tonight fishing the Hampshire avon:

"Can't believe what I have just seen swans kicking up a fuss one at the back trying to flap its wings. Thinking it was a parent trying to beat off old brood turned my head torch on to see that a big dog otter was holding the swan by its tail but let go when my light went on it and just sat with its head out of the water, it was a monster"

Makes you wonder, I would have known the swan wasn't a young as we have none on the stretch for the first time for many years, hopefully the RSPB will wake up to what's going on and their clout may get some action.
 
Phil Nixon said:
Here is a copy of a text I received from one of our members tonight fishing the Hampshire avon:

"Can't believe what I have just seen swans kicking up a fuss one at the back trying to flap its wings. Thinking it was a parent trying to beat off old brood turned my head torch on to see that a big dog otter was holding the swan by its tail but let go when my light went on it and just sat with its head out of the water, it was a monster"

Makes you wonder, I would have known the swan wasn't a young as we have none on the stretch for the first time for many years, hopefully the RSPB will wake up to what's going on and their clout may get some action.
Click to expand...

Phil, make sure they get to find out somehow.
 
Seem to remember Martin Bowler witnessing a swan/otter incident. Think he posted on FB.
 
These are just the sort of Observations we need anglers to report here on the BFW Observations page.....Submit
Many Thanks.
 
Earlier this year, our local paper reported on the fact that a pair of swans had lost all four of their cygnets over a very short period of time, blaming possible vandals. Strangely enough the area where the swans were living is somewhere that I regularly see otters. Is that a coincidence or not?
 
I think it unlikely that the RSPB or indeed any other conservation NGO would be remotely surprised by reports of Swans being predated by Otters. Eating species that sit below them in the food-chain is what predators do.

Is anybody planning to notify the RSPB that they saw a Sparrowhawk taking out a Blue tit? What about the Song trush they saw eating that earthworm?

Bird populations can rise and fall dramatically on a local level, generally speaking 'twas ever thus'. It's the overall national population that really matters and it appears that Mute Swan are doing very well, in fact the UK breeding population has 'increased progressively' since the mid-80's: BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Mute Swan

Interestingly a simplistic interpretation of the population trends for both swans and otters could imply that the more otters we have, the more swans we get (or vice versa). Utter nonsense of course as correlation does not imply causation!
 
I would urge anyone who might be expecting the RSPB to jump to the aid of swans or other water birds in the circumstances mentioned....not to hold their breath while they wait. If anyone cares to look, the RSPB has recently expanded it's remit to include other forms of wildlife besides birds. I wonder if you can guess what critter has suddenly become their favourite 'page three model' now? Yep, you got it in one, our favourite cuddly friend the otter. It would seem the executives of the RSPB are more devious and self serving and fond of jumping on band wagons than your average politician, and their levels of integrity and and actual desire to protect those they superficially represent are pretty similar too.

Lets face it, virtually all of the top executives of the major charities are on a minimum six figure salary, with many earning more than the prime minister. In fact, it is estimated that the salary of the CEO of UNICEF is in excess of $2,000,000 a year, which is approximately five times the salary of Obama, the president of America. Obviously then, charities are now (and have been for some time) VERY big business, and are run as such. Most of the majors have a huge wages bill and running costs that must be covered before anything filters down to actually benefit those the charities are supposedly there to help. If you do your research, the annual income of the largest five chains of charity shops alone is now in the order of £150,000,000 per year, and 73p in every pound of that goes in running costs.

So...what chance do you think there is of the executives of the RSPB rocking the gravy boat any time soon?

Cheers, Dave.
 
Hi Phil,
I also got that text from Bill last night.
I'm glad it has been noted by Shaun and added to 'FB observations page'

Regards John
 
Hi Phil,
I have witnessed Swans under attack from Otters, and seen them Kill...On that occasion 2 Otters were attacking a family of Swans, they eventually grabbed 1 of the signets ,which were closer to being adult in size..This was witnessed at Lower Severals, Hamps Avon...

I honestly wish that we could turn back time and voice our concerns before they started reintroducing Otters..Even then, we would probably still lose..

Enjoy what's left would be my advise..Nothing lawful is going to change any time soon..

To even get noticed, we would need to march on mass to Whitehall or Downing Street, and EVERYONE hand back your EA licences in disgust, also vowing not to buy another until they listen and if possible, ACT...

Be honest, how many of you on just this website would be prepared to do such a thing?..Imagine trying to organise it NATIONALY...:D

I have had to swallow the bitter pill, with the name Otter on it..Accepted defeat etc, the battle was already lost before many of us even realised it had began..
 
Hi men,


Craig , 100% right , but to some out there , those fishing prolific venues they still ain't a problem !. Me and Sue have accepted that there is nothing we can do , we just have to travel to better areas , and hope the bits we love that have been effected will recover enough for us to return .


Hatter
 
I was at a country fair last year where the RSPB had a stand, our furry friend featured prominently amongst the merchandise on offer. I did comment that I thought it ironic given that otters can and do attack waterfowl and their nests but this was denied by the stallholders.
 
Infuriating isn't it Gavin? I don't really know if these people are in denial, utterly refusing to accept what is blatantly, easily proven to be true...or whether they genuinely don't know. I suspect that they are just foot soldiers, with very little knowledge of the the subject they support, blindly believing what is handed down from the hierarchy.

Their old rallying flag, the one time jewel in the crown for the RSPB, was the bittern. Their publications were once littered with endless pictures of it and much boasting about the success of the massive effort undertaken by them to re-establish this bird. It is a fact that an unknown number of these birds have now been killed by otters, which I suspect is at least the beginning of the end for the renaissance of this once common British bird. These days, RSPB literature occasionally mentions that 'A bittern was spotted at....', but is now much more interested in pictures and articles about the successful return of the adorable otter. They have obviously recognised the fact that they will increase the size of their bank balance (and thus the salaries of their leading lights :rolleyes:) if they go down that road, and quietly kick any evidence of the havoc this critter will inevitably cause to endangered bird species etc., as far under the carpet as they can get it.

Ah me, 'twas ever so.

Cheers, Dave.
 
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