Fluid Beauty!

River  Otters - Lontra Canadensis

River Otters!

This past week was an incredible wildlife week in my neighborhood.  It started with seeing River Otters down on the section of the river I go to every day!!!  I was down swimming with some friends (brrr!) and I saw a River Otter pop its head out just up-river from us!  We watched it for about 15 minutes and then decided to get out of the river.  Right after we got out, I noticed that there were 2 River Otters sitting on a ledge opposite us along the river!!!  As soon as I saw them, they slid back into the river and swam downstream!!!  

Later that day, I went back with my camera to look for them. I lucked out! When we got down to the river, my husband saw them swimming up river, headed for the bridge! I hot-footed it up the road to the bridge and in a minute or so, they came swimming upriver!!! WOW!!! I took photos as they approached the bridge, while they went under the bridge, and as they swam further up the river! They were incredibly beautiful to watch.  They swam so fluidly joyous together in the clear green water!  Such grace and ease and beauty! I was mesmerized! 
  

River  Otters - Lontra Canadensis

River Otters usually travel in pairs or small family units, but not in mated pairs.  Males and females only come together briefly during mating season.  Usually it is a female with one or more of her offspring that are seen swimming together.  I have only seen River Otters once before!  They are not commonly seen in our river, because there are not a lot of them.  They need a lot of food daily, and consequently need a large area in which to hunt.  If food is scarce a female otter may travel 19 miles in one day, and a male may travel 37-56 miles!  Usually they only travel 1.5-3 miles in a day.  90% of their diet is fish, but not just trout.  They will also eat sucker fish if they are available.  Most of the local, native sucker fish have been depleted by the otters.  The local Coastal Rainbow Trout are planted every year by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and have not been depleted by River Otters.  In addition to fish, River Otters will eat garter snakes, turtles, crayfish, molting ducks, frogs, and newts. 

River Otters are "at home" underwater.  Their ears and nose are closed when they are submerged.  They can swim at 6-8 mph, and can hold their breath for 8 minutes!  They can dive to a depth of 68 feet!  They have a layer of fat and a thick undercoat to keep themselves warm in cold water.  They will hunt day and night.  At night their whiskers help them detect prey!   They are large, strong animals weighing 11-31lbs.  They range in length from 35"-51", with their tails an additional 12"-20"!   How lucky I was to watch these uncommon, amazing animals in their underwater home!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

Black Bears can Swim!

One morning this week I spotted a bear swimming across the river! Wow!!! I have never seen a bear swim before! It was fast! As soon as it swam across the channel, it swiftly crossed the boulder field and disappeared in the bushes! It happened so fast, I barely got a photo! Wow!!

Black Bear - Ursus americanus

Black Bears are good swimmers. If there is water in their neighborhood, they will exploit it for food. A few weeks ago, one of my neighbors watched a Black Bear swim down the river in pursuit of some Mergansers. Due to the fact that the Mergansers had recently molted all their flight feathers, they weren't able to fly away! The bear eventually caught up with them and nabbed one! Amazing!!!

Mallards (female - male) - Anas platyrhynchos

Mallards

The two ducks I asked you about last week were Mallards in eclipse plumage. It was a cold morning on the river, so they had their bills tucked into their feathers to stay warm. The photo above clearly shows the difference between male and female Mallards in eclipse plumage. Notice how the female's bill is orange with a dark saddle, and the male's bill is yellow-green without a dark saddle.

Mallards (males) - Anas platyrhynchos

The photo above shows male Mallards in their breeding plumage. Eclipse plumage occurs after breeding and before migration. Male ducks acquire a female-like plumage, while female ducks do not noticeably change in appearance. Both male and female ducks molt all their flight feathers during this stage. It takes a month or more for the flight feathers to grow back.

Western Aquatic/Sierra Garter Snake - Western Terrestrial/Mountain Garter Snake

Thamnophis couchii - Thamnophis elegans elegans 

Garter Snakes!

I've seen several small garter snakes in the river this week. I've seen the aquatic ones in the river all summer, but I have never seen the terrestrial ones in the river before. Apparently they can both swim, although the terrestrial ones prefer to live on land.  Both of these types of snakes will feed on the fish, tadpoles, frogs, frog eggs, leeches, salamanders, and toads that live in the river!

Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

Osprey Update!

This week there were 2 Ospreys on our river!!! I haven't been able to get a photo of them together, but I have seen them flying overhead! I also saw an Osprey on two consecutive mornings, about 7 miles downriver! It might be one of the same two birds, as Ospreys will travel quite a distance to find fish. How exciting to have our Osprey population doubled! I love seeing them!

Black-headed Grosbeaks (female - male) - Pheucticus melanocephalus

Migrating Birds!

The Grosbeaks are no longer feeding at our bird feeders!  They arrived last Spring, and have been feeding here for the past 4 months.  They started to decrease in numbers about 3 weeks ago, along with the decrease in daylight hours and accompanying cooler temperatures.  The Black-headed Grosbeaks migrate to Central Mexico for the winter, a distance of more than 3,000 miles! 

  

Evening Grosbeaks (female - male) - Coccothraustes vespertinus

The Evening Grosbeaks will migrate to lower elevations in California for the winter.    

What kind of critter is this?

I still haven't found out why squirrels don't seem to get covered in tree sap, but I will!

The lovely fall colored bush from last week is Poison Oak!  

It's lovely right now, but don't touch it!  It will give you a nasty, itchy rash!

  

What do these two birds have in common?  

What kind of birds are they?

Where are the deer and the foxes?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

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