An Owl, an Otter and a Visiting Cat
Posted: 4 July 2022
This week's collection of clips starts with a blur but it soon becomes clear what you are seeing. Then we have to stare into the gloom to make out what we are seeing and in the final sequence it's easy to recognise a domestic cat.
As the blur settles down you are quickly aware that you are seeing a Tawny Owl. The owl was captured on Wednesday at 03:58.
At 0:20 we move to look at the middle of the bridge on Friday at 02:50. It's difficult to make out at first. There's a second or so when you can make out the body and fat tail of the creature. It possesses that undulating gait that, last week, I was associating with a stoat. Then it disappears in the gloom for a few seconds before you catch glimpses of its eyes, illuminated in the infra-red light of the camera as it moves along the path on the Ruston House side of the bridge. A moment or two after that you can make out it is returning and this time it begins to climb the steps up to "Dave" the deer sculpture. At this point you get a true appreciation of its size. This is no stoat, but an otter.
At 0:41 the scene changes again, this time revealing a domestic cat. The wildlife camera does capture them from time to time. After 20 seconds the camera does its usual night- time thing and shuts down. But immediately starts up again as new movement is detected. It would be interesting to know what it found of interest over the side of the bridge, before it gave up and returned to the Ruston House side of the bridge.
