2026 Results Summary

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The 13th Spring Otter Survey took place over the weekend of 25th/26th April 2026.

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For the second year running it was a dry weekend for the survey this year and 89 individuals or teams of volunteers took part.  Again, this created challenges due to low water levels which can make spraint and tracks hard to find especially on rocky, exposed banks. The survey area was expanded again with several new volunteers in the Rothbury area helping to survey the River Coquet and its tributaries.

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In total, 100 patches were covered containing 571 individual sites. There was one sighting of an otter by surveyors over the weekend plus a trail camera capture of a female with two nearly full grown cubs.

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Of the 571 sites checked 275 (48%) were positive for otter signs – this is about average across surveys. There were 286 sites (50%) that were totally negative. Again this is about average. There were 137 unsurveyed patches this year. The total number of adjudicated active otter territories this year was 41 which is an increase on 2025 but over a larger area.

 

The full survey report can be accessed via the link below.

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