The Villager

MARSH MATTERS
by Kathy Barclay, Picture by Michael Rodgers
What’s New?
Well we survived the winter and came out the
other side a lot wetter and muddier than
before! We haven’t really been able to step off
the boardwalk without sinking knee deep in
mud or water at any point during the winter.
Which is how it should be I suppose for a
marsh….but I’ve seen drier years!
The wildlife seems oblivious to it really and I
have a secret to share with you…..our friends
the otters have been regular visitors to the
pond area (I’ve heard but not seen!) during
daylight hours. Their footprints were clear to
see in the snow on the boardwalks.
Last years cub and his Mum or Dad have really
taken to a mid-morning splash in front of the
bird hide. Thanks to our keen wildlife spotters
and bird watchers we have some great
photographs.
I thought it would be interesting to tell you a
little more about the lives of our handsome
mammalian friends so here goes:
All about Otters
Our UK otter is known as the Eurasian otter
(Lutra lutra), one of a number of species found
worldwide. They have been around since after
the last ice age and were widespread for
10,000 years but from the mid-1950’s they
suffered a dramatic decline. By the late 1970’s
the only healthy populations were in Scotland
with small numbers remaining in Wales,
Northern and Sout Western England. This
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decline was closely linked with the use of
organochlorine pesticides such as dieldrin.
These were used in sheep dips and seed
dressings but what we didn’t realise was that
they built up in the food chain to such an
extent that they killed the top predators
including otters. When we stopped using these
chemicals, bird populations recovered quickly
but otters took a little longer.
Today we are finding more and more across
the UK sometimes in some rather surprising
places, like Magor Marsh. They have been
returning to traditional lowland haunts and
establishing themselves firmly in busy urban
centres, often becoming used to people and
active in broad daylight.
Like all mustelids (ferrets, weasels and
mink) they have long slim bodies ideal for
swimming. They are 1 – 1.5 metres long with
half that length taken up with a strong
muscular tail for propulsion through the
water. It’s fur is short and dense and keeps the
skin dry by trapping a layer of air around the
body. They have four webbed feet and can close
their ears and nose when underwater. So it
should come as no surprise that their diet is
mainly waterborne prey – 80% fish and the
rest made up of amphibians, crayfish, ducks
and small mammals (hopefully not too many
water vole!). Otters are one of our top
predators and eat about 1.5kg of fish every
day. They can be distinguished from mink
by their much larger size, more powerful
body, paler grey-brown fur, broader snout
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