Twyi valley near Llandeilo
24th November
Ghost owl, silent and swift, by gloaming trees.
Curlew quietly burbling on the river’s gravelly inner curve.
Then the noisy arrival of geese en masse, swooping down on the grassy plain across from where I stood. Swans were there too, more sedate on a still backwater.
As I ambled gently back along the steep river bank, enjoying the sun’s early rays, I heard an extraordinary whistling huff. Intrigued (vole in distress? predation?), I leant over the bank’s verticle drop. An otter. Swimming at the surface, he idled half proud of the water. He was as unexpected to me as I was to he, and he submerged in a quick and quiet splash. The water flowed smooth as before. He left no trace.