Monday, November 22, 2010

Wildlife Viewing at the Ponds

Late afternoon is a good time to see wildlife but the low light makes it hard to get sharp pictures.
 We can almost always see a blue heron at the pond.
 Egrets too, are common.  When this one came the heron said "leave, this is my spot" and the egret flew off, looking like a graceful dancer on toe.
 Then I saw something in the shadows, moving in the water.  It's motion didn't seem quite right for a duck.
 Could it be another creature I have been looking for for years?
YES!  There was a pair or river otters!  You can bet I will be back as often as I can to see if I can get some more pictures of this elusive but interesting critter.
Hubby caught a brief video of them, they're a bit hard to pick out in the duckweed clogged water.

See other views of our world at That's My World, Tuesday, hosted for us each week by Klaus, Sandy, Wren and Sylvia.

21 comments:

Gaelyn said...

The pond does look a little weed choked. The river otters are a very cool sighting. Hope to see them again.

Sylvia K said...

Oh, how fun to see the river otters!! I love it when something like that happens -- particularly when you least expect it!! Such a beautiful place! Your photos are always the next best thing to being there! Enjoy your week, Martha!

Sylvia

NatureFootstep said...

I love that kind of surprises. :) Good luck to you!

Carver said...

Great post. How cool to spot the otters and I love the shot of the heron and egret.

Diane AZ said...

The heron and egret are gorgeous and how fantastic to see river otters too! The video captures their playfulness. I hope you see them again.

Lady Fi said...

What green water. That shot of the otter head peeking out above the surface is delightful! Made me laugh with joy.

B i r g i t t a said...

I would love to see an otter in real life :)

http://fotochip.blogspot.com/2010/11/mwmarsvinsholm-castle.html

Anonymous said...

Oh that's a fun place to see our friends. Never seen a river otter before.

Happy Thanksgiving.

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Le foto con questi animali sono bellissime.
Grande il tuo mondo oggi.
Buona giornata :)
Myriam

La said...

Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures of the local wildlife.

Kay L. Davies said...

River otters! Oh, I'd love to see them. How wonderful for you.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh how wonderful! We have seen river otters (in the wild) once and once only. We went back to the same spot (on the Oregon Coast) a few times, but didn't see them again. Wrong season or wrong time of day, we never figured it out.

If I were close to your pond I'd try to go every day.

Barb said...

Lucky you to have Otters. I love watching their antics!

Arija said...

What a thrill for you Martha! Otters are so entertaining, cute, wonderful . . . I am positively green with envy and look forward to many more. Hope they stay around.

Hugs and Blessings . . . Arija

Linda Reeder said...

Cool! River otters are so much fun.

Judy said...

I like that first shot of the heron, late afternoon light and all! I am waiting for more about the otters, as well!

sunflowerkat said...

Otters!! OMG, how exciting is that?!? You may not have had optimal light but you still got a great picture. I hope they stick around and you get to see them again.

Kat
http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com/

Tania said...

What a great bird! We do not have these here.. I think your world is wonderful with your animals and nature:-)

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

My teaching space is called Kotuku wich is Maori for egret.

clairz said...

How wonderful that you saw the otters and were able to capture them with cameras to share with us! We used to have a pair near us in New Hampshire. It was a pretty wild place, now that I think of it--bears on the deck, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

robin. said...

how great are those little otters...you will no doubt have fun watching them!!!