River Otters at Ediz Hook

River Otter, eyes shut, chomping down on seafood brunch

Today I visited Ediz Hook, which is a land spit off Port Angeles. I totally had River Otters on my mind as I discussed them recently with my friend Ingrid, who told me she saw several at the start of the hook. I had also chatted about the otters with another friend who walks the length of the hook frequently. She thinks the River Otters are too rat-like for her liking, which made me laugh. Pointing out they are weasels, not rodents didn't change her mind one bit. So when I reached my favorite parking spot, I was a happily surprised to see a River Otter surface, then dive. Scrambling for my camera, I flung myself out of my car to take some action photos of the fishing River Otter. 

Eating an Eel?

Nom, Nom, Nom...

Diving for 10th helping of seafood entrée

With plenty of shots taken, I figured that was it for the day, settling in my car to gloat over otter photos. Five or ten minutes later, something compelled me to look out the drivers side window, and there, some 15 feet away by my car was the hunchbacked River Otter on dry land. Yes, I immediately lost my #@$&, scurrying out of my car, missing every camera shot I aimed for due to overexcitement. I'd make a crap NatGeo photographer. 

Watching the otter galumphing along by one of the spit's effing feral cat shelters, and then it disappeared for a bit, reappearing on the boat launch parking lot. By that time I was taping the rascal. 
An old fisherman & the otter trotted past each other by no more than 3 feet. Neither paid one whit of attention to the other. Did the fisherman think the otter was a cat or dog? Was the presence of otters here too common for the pair to bother noting one another? Somewhere were lions lying down with lambs or something? I mean, that otter paid zero attention to the old man of the sea. 

Hiking it over to the parking lot, which is bordered by harbor waters on 3 sides I looked and looked, finally seeing the otter surfacing in the harbor and I had a field day photographing it. 

Here is my video of the frisky critter - Dramamine recommended for those without sea legs. 

Dining Room Window, Yard List Magic

Not wearing mutton chop whiskers...
is standing in front of a white blossom

A few weeks ago a distinctive 'Chip! Chip! Chip! Chip....!' rang out from trees near the cottage. The bird remained hidden but I thought it was probably a Chipping Sparrow

A couple of days later I sat in my dining room facing the orchard. A small pale chested sparrow was hopping along the driveway, and my first

thought was 'White-throated Sparrow!'. I know. Wrong. But I was hoping the pale bits included a white throat. It did, but it also included a black eye stripe and a  Weasley-red cap and that cinched its identification as a Chipping Sparrow: new yard bird number 49! 

The photos here are dingy, but then they were shot through a dingy window.

That brings me to early May, sitting at dinner with two friends in the hours approaching twilight, when I spotted a banded, fanned tail of a hawk, shooting up into an orchard tree. I shrieked, scaring the crap out of my friends. A small accipiter hawk was bouncing merrily around in an apple tree. Grabbing my camera for several spectacularly blurry and blotchty shot through yee old dining room window.

Hawk hunched over, facing left, yellow talons

Facing right, looking down, talons on branch

Facing left, bent over downward, with head held
lower than the yellow talons, horizontal tail at far right. 

Upright, facing left, head obscured by branches

So crap photos, but good enough for an identification. While it was in the tree I was certain it was a Sharp-shined hawk, but after the bird flew off I took a good look at the photos. It has distinctive, reddish barred thighs (Sharpies barely show their thighs, which sit higher up on the leg) and the legs are fairly buff in general - Cooper's Hawk. A small one at that so probably a male. Yard bird #50, WOOO HOOO!

That brings us to surprise yard bird #51, spotted flitting about the orchard, looking at first to me like a Yellow Warbler, until I got the binocs out and saw the warbler's cute black hat - a Wilson's Warbler. The bird, which was again photographed through the dining room window was also a first for my Washington State list.

That brings my Yard Bird tally up to 51 birdies - Yippy Skippy! This is all terribly exciting, as I've been in this house for just over 2 years and I'm up to 51 species. For comparison, when I lived in Fair Oaks, California it took me 23 years to get to 47 species.