We were setting up the siphon from the Mire Loch AGAIN this morning when we noticed this interesting lump of poo on the wall of the dam spillway. The location next to water, on top of a prominent feature, as well as the tiny fish bones and scales you can see inside the dropping tell us that this is an Otter spraint. If you're into advanced poo identification then you can also try smelling it! Otter spraint has a characteristically sweet scent, slightly like a hay meadow, while the similar Mink scat has a foul and very unpleasant odour. This is the third one we've found in recent weeks, which suggests that an otter is visiting us regularly at the moment. They are mostly nocturnal in this part of the world, so pretty difficult to spot, but keep your eyes peeled and you never know your luck! Lizy

Otter spraint