Otters in Shetland (pics added 22/02/2024)

John these are fantastic! Heading up to Shetland in May and can't wait to try and capture some Otters!
 
Fantastic images.
Thank you :)

Magic shots , what lens did you use mate ..

Thank you :) Everything up to image 21 was taken with the 300mm f4 AFS (sometimes with 1,4x teleconverter) I'm selling this lens in the classifieds section!:naughty:
22 onwards, and the video, was with the 200-500mm.

John
 
Just discovered this thread and i'm just gobsmacked, you have some amazing picture!
I live in Orkney so great it's great to see your picture from Shetland neighbor. I hope I can find otters in Orkney, i've seen them a few brief time by luck. I've been said to look near fresh water stream as they need to wash their fur in fresh water after hunting in the sea. They are around for sure but i'm not so lucky at finding them and with a young toddler it's not an easy game to stay out for long.

I'll be watching this thread. Keep them coming!
 
I'll be watching this thread. Keep them coming!

Many thanks,
I've never looked for them in Orkney, though I assume the behaviour would be similar to Shetland. They don't need much of a stream, just a small fresh water piece of moorland will do them. Look for trails along the shore and small rich areas of grass where they spraint [emoji106]
 
What a stunning set of images! Everyone of them a real credit to your commitment.
 
Many thanks,
I've never looked for them in Orkney, though I assume the behaviour would be similar to Shetland. They don't need much of a stream, just a small fresh water piece of moorland will do them. Look for trails along the shore and small rich areas of grass where they spraint [emoji106]

thanks for the tips!
 
These are great, John. Congratulations. A subject that I had only worked with a couple occasions. Need to find the time to revisit.
 
All are excellent, I hope to achieve something in Mull next June, yours are inspirational. Congrats
 
A few from today - the first time I've seen an Otter with a Squat Lobster - lovely colours on the lobster, not that the Otter was caring.

24/
Otters, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

25/ Mother and cub
Otters, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr




And a few from a pod of around 12-14 Killer Whales that we saw yesterday :)

Killer Whales, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

Killer Whales, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr
 
A few from today - the first time I've seen an Otter with a Squat Lobster - lovely colours on the lobster, not that the Otter was caring.

24/
Otters, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

25/ Mother and cub
Otters, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr




And a few from a pod of around 12-14 Killer Whales that we saw yesterday :)

Killer Whales, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

Killer Whales, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

Superb and thanks for sharing :)

The video adds the icing on the cake :D
 
I know what you mean regarding tones


Not really… my bad. I am not talking
about WB but mid-tones control. Very
often well done but not constant.
 
Wow, i'd seen some video of the killer whales on a couple of the Facebook pages i follow. I wish i lived closer to scotland!
 
Amazing series. Well shot, amazed they put up with you being relatively close to them.

You must have been very patient. :)
 
Wow, i'd seen some video of the killer whales on a couple of the Facebook pages i follow. I wish i lived closer to scotland!
Do you follow the Shetland Orca Sightings Facebook page? I've actually seen more Killer Whales than Puffins in the last week, lol.
 
@crieffy i follow caithness sea watching on FB but looking on their page, they hadnt shared any of them so i have no idea which page i saw the video on - but i def saw it on facebook - annoying me now!
 
Is this mainland or a different island? How easy are they to see? I would love to go to Shetland but it is a long way - I am not sure what would be cheapest driving and ferry or flying.
 
every year i want to go to orca watch at the end of May but can never make it work money wise or logistics wise by myself :-/
Sorry for the late reply - it is expensive, you'd really need to allow a couple of weeks to maximise chances of seeing any. Ferry is cheapest, then you'd need a hire car while in Shetland to get to wherever the Orcas may appear
 
Is this mainland or a different island? How easy are they to see? I would love to go to Shetland but it is a long way - I am not sure what would be cheapest driving and ferry or flying.
Sorry for the late reply - these are all on Mainland Shetland. They're not particularly easy to find, though some people can get lucky at the inter-island ferry terminals, where the Otters are a bit more tolerant of human activity. I do a bit of guiding on my days off - could do a deal for TP members! :)
Flying may be ok if you book far ahead - ferry is cheap without a cabin (they have sleep-pods available) and it's probably cheaper to hire a car once in Shetland rather than take your own on the boat. There seems to be direct flights from Manchester starting in September with Loganair, so that may be easier depending on where you are.
 
Sorry for the late reply - these are all on Mainland Shetland. They're not particularly easy to find, though some people can get lucky at the inter-island ferry terminals, where the Otters are a bit more tolerant of human activity. I do a bit of guiding on my days off - could do a deal for TP members! :)
Flying may be ok if you book far ahead - ferry is cheap without a cabin (they have sleep-pods available) and it's probably cheaper to hire a car once in Shetland rather than take your own on the boat. There seems to be direct flights from Manchester starting in September with Loganair, so that may be easier depending on where you are.
I have read that Yell is the best place for Otters in the UK but a) that is even further and more expensive than Mainland Shetland b) sadly my wife is not into nature very much and hates the cold so it would be tricky for me to go there.[Apologies for implying that Shetland might not be that warm]
(I miss my family too much to go on holiday without them).
 
Sorry for the late reply - it is expensive, you'd really need to allow a couple of weeks to maximise chances of seeing any. Ferry is cheapest, then you'd need a hire car while in Shetland to get to wherever the Orcas may appear

yeah i thought it would be expensive and not any cheaper than a trip to iceland! Orca Watch is in the Wick area, don't think the sightings are usually as close as the videos
 
Time for a few updates - have been doing lots of Otter guiding recently, but finally got a chance to do some photography for myself over the last two days. Had hired a Nikon D500 for a few days to use with my 200-500mm - I am seriously impressed by it! So much so, I might even buy one if I can sell my D800E.

Discovered a family last night with three cubs! They were also joined by another with a single cub, so I had six Otters running around before me - amazing experience! Sadly light was against me, and mostly overcast - hopefully will get another chance to find them soon though.

Anyhoo...
25/
Otters, Shetland, June 2017, D500 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

26/ 100% crop from D500
Otters, Shetland, June 2017, D500 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

27/ ISO 10000
Otters, Shetland, June 2017, D500 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

28/
Otters, Shetland, June 2017, D500 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

29/ That's all for now..
Otters, Shetland, June 2017, D500 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr
 
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John it's always beyond a pleasure to scout your threads,the above otter pile does it for me,but pretty much all shots are wonderful also like the last frame I'm a sucker for magical back light .
A complete joy mate thanks so much for sharing

stu
 
Taken this evening - an Otter with a huge Conger Eel! The first time I saw a Conger as prey was last Friday, but couldn't manage photos. Then this evening we found this one - probably the same Otter, and on almost the same patch of rocks. Very poor light unfortunately as it was completely in shadow with a very harsh back-light. When I got home I discovered I was shooting Jpegs for some reason, rather than RAW - somehow I had gone from shooting bank A to C?? Very odd as I'd never been in to the menu to change it - weird.

30/
Otter and Conger Eel, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

31/
Otter and Conger Eel, Shetland, 2017 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr
 
still great shots john, i can imagine how annoyed you were when you saw it was only JPG!!
 
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