Monday November 25, 2013 Jenner CA.
Lots of otters today
I was a little slow getting started today. I put my boat in the water at Jenner around noon and headed across to Penny Island, as usual. I was thinking of heading up the river to Seal Heaven, so I continued on to the south shore of the river and on up to Otter’s Log where I was taking a break just sitting in my kayak and watching. The sun was out and there was only a light breeze.
This is the view looking back towards Jenner from near the Otter’s Log area.
I was just sitting at Otter’s Log in my kayak and thinking about continuing on up the river when an otter surprised us both by surfacing in front of me. The otter dived and I moved on out from the log into the river to watch where it would surface next. Shortly, it climbed up on Otter’s log in front of me.
This is the first otter to climb up on Otter’s Log.
It began to give itself a bath and I watched and took pictures while it did.
I watched that one for about ten minutes before it went back into the water and was diving around the log, when all of a sudden a bunch more otter’s came onto the scene from it seemed out of nowhere.
Here’s a few of them just ready to climb up onto Otter’s Log.
There were a bunch of them, around twelve or so, I couldn’t really count them as some of them were in motion most of the time.
A bunch of them at the base of Otter’s Log.
I watched to see which way they were going, up or down the river. Down river, so I followed them and watched them play and feed.
Here are a bunch of them just on the shore just below Otter’s Log.
They were headed down river, but they would go to shore often and look like this.
These Otters were under some brush and checking me out.
This one is just about to enter the water.
This one was watching me from under the brush along the bank.
I followed them all down the back channel of Penny Island about half way. They went up on the shore on Penny Island into the brush. I waited for them to come back out. I could hear them making their grunting noises and chirps for quite awhile, but eventually, it was all quiet. I didn’t’ see them enter the water again. I suspect they crossed over the island by land and went out the other side as I didn’t hear or see them again.
So much for my plan to go up river today. As long as I was down this way, I continued on down the channel to the west end of Penny Island and this Great Blue Heron was feeding as I passed and gave me this look.
There were a lot of birds on the west end of the island in the water and flying around. Mostly seagulls and coots and some geese too.
I went over to the west end of the island and sat for awhile, just looking, then turned around and went back up the back channel of Penny Island taking my time.
I dallied at the east end of the island for a bit, then went on in for the day.
Now you know why Otter’s Log is called Otter’s Log.
Had a nice day.
