Otters

I haven't seen too many otters lately since that big group around earlier in the spring so I was happy to see these two on my last kayak outing. They weren't sure if they were happy to see me, however!

Kayaking

There was lots to see on a recent kayak outing. There were harbor seals around but they weren't out sunning on the rocks today. Instead they kept popping up beside me, having a look, and then disappearing again. Too quick to photograph but nice to see them close up.

Four or five deer were standing on the shore and I stopped to watch them. To my surprise, one by one they jumped in the water and swam over to the island. I knew they could swim, but this island seemed an odd choice - it's mostly bare rock with meager grass on the top.

It took some climbing ability for them to get up the steep rocky side of the island.

Just after seeing the deer the big group of otters appeared. It's always hard to count a group in the water when they're constantly diving and popping back up. It's only when they emerge on land that you can see them all at once.

And then to top it off, as I paddled away from the otters I noticed something on the shore. It was a really low tide and that's when the raccoons seem to come out to search for food, presumably crabs?

Even at a fair distance, not moving, in my kayak, it was still a little suspicious of me and it soon left. But just after it left, another one arrived.

It's always a bit of a challenge using a long telephoto from a bobbing kayak and trying to track a moving subject. But if you take enough shots with any luck some of them turn out.

All in all it was a fun outing. I'll close with an abstract shot of backlit kelp.

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More Otters

I met this otter head on walking down the paved path towards me. We both stopped and looked at each other. The otter headed off the path towards the water. I was pretty sure where it would come out so I went back up the path and over to a point where I could see. Sure enough it emerged from the bushes onto the rocky shore. It definitely knew I was there and looked at me a few times, but I was far enough away I don't think it was too worried.

It rolled around on the rocks for a bit and then swam away. When people go in the water their head is usually the last thing to go under. But when otters enter the water their head is the first thing to go in.

I saw this next otter in the water feeding. It seemed to be working it's way towards me so I waited and sure enough it came to shore just below the path. I thought it was coming out on land to eat, but it didn't have anything.

It was funny to see it shake like a wet dog.

It made it's way up the rocks towards me. It didn't seem to be paying any attention to me although I was only a few feet away.

Why did the otter cross the path? It had a tunnel into the bushes so I'm guessing it had a den in there.

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A Puddle of Otters

It was cloudy this morning and the water wasn't perfectly smooth so I almost didn't go out kayaking but I'm glad I did. When I first got down to the water I saw a few otters in the water. I thought it was a threesome that I think of as siblings (although I have no evidence of that). Then more began popping up. It's always hard to count them in the water when they're hunting because they constantly dive and resurface.

One of them came out on shore just below me to eat its fish. They don't seem to eat underwater. They can eat while floating on the surface but often they'll come out on shore for chewier items.

I watched them for a little bit but they were moving away so I went back to setting up my kayak. As I was carrying the kayak down to the water to launch I saw there was a group of otters on the island just offshore. I launched the kayak but stayed at a distance and got out my camera. It was hard to tell how many there were, especially at first when "puddle" seemed like quite an appropriate term for a group of otters.

I was far enough away they didn't seem to be worried about me, but gradually more of them became aware of me.

And soon the puddle flowed away into the ocean.

I think I count 16 otters in the photos although it's a little hard to tell. That's definitely the biggest group I've seen, especially out of the water. I assume this is spring socializing leading to mating season. I would not have guessed we have that many otters in the harbor. Usually I see single otters or maybe 2 or 3. But river otters can have quite a large range so maybe some of these came from outside the harbor.

I was going to combine these with other otter photos I've accumulated lately, but these ones seemed a good enough story on their own so I'll post the others separately.

Crab Dinner

This otter was on a rock right below the walkway. Eating the crab was obviously more important than the people walking by.

A crow was waiting patiently for any leftovers.

Sadly, when it turned to leave, I could see its back leg was damaged - maybe broken or dislocated? On the photos you can see the foot is swollen too. It still seemed to be managing alright but I wonder if it will survive with the injury. I hope so.

River Otters

I don't take much video but when I saw these otters out in the water I knew still photographs wouldn't look like much. So here's some video for a change. It gives an idea of how frenetic they are. If you're reading this by email or feed reader and there's no video below, you can watch it directly on YouTube.

I saw this group of seven when I was kayaking. They were on one of the navy no trespassing islands, probably a good safe spot for them.

These four were just near our place at one of their usual spots.

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