Otter spotting in Northumberland

There were many false alarms along the River Blyth early on that Saturday morning. As the overnight rain cleared and the sun struggled to break through the overhanging trees, logs bobbed, drips dropped and fish jumped and splashed on the water's surface. Or maybe it was the 5am wake-up call that meant my eyes were playing tricks on me.

I'd come up to Northumberland for a wildlife weekend in search of otters, lifelong favourite animals that I had yet to see in the wild. I grew up with books like Tarka the Otter and Ring of Bright Water and despite spending a lot of time nature-spotting in the UK, I had never been lucky enough to see one of these shy and magical creatures.

That morning, as we followed the river upstream through the Plessey Woods Country Park, spotting kingfisher, herons, jays, woodpecker and ducks, anticipation mounted with each log, rock or fish that looked like an otter and the tell-tale spraints (droppings) and footprints along the banks. Though the otters continued to elude me, I did chalk up one first, seeing a rare red squirrel shoot up a tree trunk and angrily chatter at us from the branches above.

It wasn't until later that afternoon, in a birdwatching hide overlooking one of the pools behind the sand dunes of Druridge Bay, that I finally saw what I'd come for. Dipping and diving against a backdrop of reeds, the lone animal was catching fish and rolling playfully on its back to eat them. Over on the far side of the pool, about 30m away, it kept us guessing as it dived for several minutes then surfaced some distance away. We watched it through binoculars and willed it to come closer, but after about 10 minutes it disappeared into the reeds. I felt a huge sense of elation and privilege.

The odds that I'd see one were pretty good, for two reasons. Otters are thriving in Northumberland, where the species never died out as it did in many other counties during the last century, when water pollution from organophosphate chemicals proved disastrous for the species and restricted them to corners of Scotland, the north and south-west of England, and Wales.

The second "guarantee" was the extensive local knowledge of my guide. Martin Kitching has lived in Northumberland for more than 15 years, and in January this year, he decided to get serious about his passion and set up his own business, Northern Experience Wildlife Tours, with his own funds and money from local investors.