Otter sighting?

Has anyone seen Otters on the River Gryffe? Terry got in touch with us to say he thought he saw one at Houston.

Something entered the river from the undergrowth on the opposite bank opposite to where I was standing. I did not get a clear view but it made a substantial splash. About 10 -15 seconds later a shape similar to the head/neck of an otter appeared at the surface very briefly before submerging again.

The NBN atlas showing otter records for Renfrewshire gives several unconfirmed sightings for the River Gryffe although many of these are old records. There are no records for otters on the Gryffe in iRecord or iNaturalist but I’m sure there must be more recent unreported sightings of them for that area. They have been seen by PNHS members on the White Cart in the centre of Paisley near the Hammills and and from the Cart walkway near Hawkhead. It stands to reason that they would also be found in the Gryffe.

If you’ve seen any Otters or other interesting wildlife around Renfrewshire then we would love to hear from you. Either add a comment below or, if you have a photograph, email it to PNHS.website@gmail.com with your story about what, where and when you saw it.

Please also submit any definite sightings on websites like iRecord. Their apps make it easy to record your sightings on your mobile phone as you go. Doing this is very important to help monitor local wildlife and to inform surveys and strategies for conservation and biodiversity enhancement.