I’ve had the most unexpectedly marvellous start to 2024. Although I knew that two Otters had been spotted at various places around Cardiff Bay over the past year and had seen photographs other people had taken, I had never been lucky enough to spot one … until this morning. I had just begun my circuit of the Bay, now an annual New Year’s Day walk to see how many birds I can find, when I noticed a flock of gulls circling low over one particular area of the River Ely where it flows into the Bay. As I got closer, I was still watching them, wondering what had disturbed them, when I heard a loud plop from the water below the path where I was walking. An Otter – my first ever, and what a magnificent sight it was!

If I’d noticed it was there earlier, I might have been able to hide my presence a little, to have watched it for longer and got better photos, but it clocked me straight away and veered across to the other side of the river, disappearing amongst the yachts moored there. Still, I was buzzing all the way around the Bay and I’m still grinning madly as I write this. I hope your new year has also got off to a great start.