Searching for Otters in a beautiful autumnal wood

It's so cold today that the leaves are falling off the trees in a constant rain despite the fact there isn't any wind. But the sunshine is really making the autumnal colours glow beautifully. Here are some photos of the trees in Craiglockart Dell today.

and there's frost too

The common snails have gathered in their usual place to hibernate, though I saw more of them ever there today, they're really packed in

As well as doing my weekly patrol of the Dells, picking litter and recording wildlife, I was taking part in a new survey the Water of Leith Conservation Trust are doing to find recent evidence of otters along the river. I'm one of the people who have been trained on how to sample and record otter spraint (poo!) which smells oddly like jasmine tea. I didn't find any signs of otters today but I did have a wonderful view of a roe deer (no photo sorry, I was too amazed by seeing the deer I didn't want to scare it away by taking its photo). If you see otters along the river, the trust want to know! You can find out more about the survey here. I have seen otters a few times along the river, though not in Craiglockart Dell.