River Otter Tracks - Lontra canadensis
One morning this week, I drove down Hwy 49 to see what all the recent rain had changed. After several stops with views of the fast flowing North Yuba River, I decided to hike on a trail that paralleled the river. It had been a few days since the heavy rains, and the river had slowed down and cleared to a beautiful translucent, glass green. As I hiked along the trail, to my delight I spotted two River Otters swimming and hunting in the shallow water along the distant shoreline!!! They were moving quickly downriver, so I ran down the trail with hopes of getting some photos as they swam past. I waited for about 15 seconds and they indeed showed up, but there were THREE of them! WOW!!! Luckily I got a few photos as they sped past! Two of them definitely stuck together, with the third one was following at a short distance behind the pair.
Northern River Otter - Lontra canadensis
The information I've found about Northern River Otters on the internet varies quite a bit from site to site. Here's a summary of what I've learned, but please don't take it as 100% accurate!
• Typically, but not always, if you see a group of Northern River Otters it is the female and her offspring, or a group of adult males. However, a group of otters could also be a family unit, including the male!
• Offspring are usually born in March or April. Breeding may have taken place as long as 9 or 11 months before then. Females can delay the implantation of embryos, so that their birth occurs in the Spring! Once the embryo is implanted, the gestation period is 60 days.
• The den where the pups were born was probably underground in an old riverside Beaver or Muskrat den, or in a hollow tree near water. The den may or may not have had several tunnels, with one tunnel having an underwater entrance. (Apparently otter dens vary considerably!)
• Usually the female raises 1-6 pups on her own, without the help of the male. After two months, the pups begin to learn how to hunt and swim. In four months they are weaned and can feed themselves. At this point, the male may return to the family group, which will stay together for another 6-8 months, or until another litter is born.
Northern River Otters - Lontra canadensis
• A Northern River Otter's tail is highly muscular and comprises up to 40 percent of the otter's total body length (3-5 feet). With the tail's strong, undulating movement, a river otter propels itself through the water at 6-8 miles per hour and can easily dive to up 60 feet.
Northern River Otters - Lontra canadensis
• Male Northern River Otters are usually not territorial with each other, and are often quite social. They can also be quite solitary. Both male and female youths and adults, are quite playful and are frequently seen chasing each other, sliding down riverbanks, or burrowing through snow.
I don't know if the two otters pictured above are male or female, but they stayed quite close to each other as they traveled downriver, sometimes climbing over rocks and then plunging back into the river as they went. I never have seen otters "at play". Maybe next time...
River Otter Tracks - Lontra canadensis
Later the same day, I went on a different walk with my husband seven miles upriver from where I saw the otters. To my surprise I found fresh River Otter Tracks in the newly "washed" sand, left after the recent high water. I would almost bet that it was one of the Otters I had seen. We don't have a large population of Otters. Three Otters would probably be a healthy population for a 30-40 mile stretch of the river. The last time I saw an Otter on our river was almost a year ago on Feb. 5, 2022!
Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula
I frequently see groups of 4 or 6 Common Goldeneyes on the river these days. A week before the recent rains, I spotted one busily thrashing something in the river water. When I enlarged these photos, I could see that it was eating a crawdad! Crawdads usually hang out under rocks in the river. I never saw a Goldeneye eating one before! Pretty interesting!
Common Merganser - Mergus merganser
I was really surprised to see these three female Common Mergansers on the river. Usually they migrate to lower elevations for the winter. Since it's been raining more than snowing, I guess they can tolerate the temperatures! It will be interesting if they stay all winter!
North Yuba River - March 2018
Lots of Water!
The total rainfall amount for last week's series of storms was 12.43"!! At one point the river rose to over 13' with a flow rate of over 10,000 CFS (cubic feet per second). It was a real "Mocha Express" with all the sediment filled river water racing down the canyon. The last high water we had was in March of 2018! I don't have the data, but the high water was even higher back then.
Rock Creek in 2023 and 2018.
The local creeks were also just flying along, causing the boulders to clunk loudly against each other. The above photos show the difference in the high water flow in Rock Creek, a local neighborhood creek, in 2023 and 2018.
Waterfall near Indian Valley
The heavy rain caused many small waterfalls to appear along Highway 49. One of the biggest is the one pictured above. It is relatively new, having been formed by the heavy rain in March of 2018! So lovely!
As I drove down the highway, I counted 19 new waterfalls in 7 miles! Each one was uniquely beautiful! It has been several years since they have been flowing!
Damp Earth Art
It rained a total of 2.88" on Wednesday and Thursday this past week, and a lot more is in the forecast for Sunday through Monday! This brings us to a water year total of 32.62"! Additional rain is also is predicted to continue into the end of next week as well! Yahoo!
I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Any submissions would be greatly appreciated. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation! Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen.
Have any mushrooms popped up in my neighborhood?
Are there any Raptors or Woodpeckers around?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!
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