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The Day of the Otters


by Kay Scheurer Steele (12/19/2022)

River Otters
River otters (Lontra canadensis) piling together for security, warmth and rest during their feeding frenzy.

It’s not uncommon that while looking for a specific photo subject the totally unexpected happens – subjects appear that are not even on your radar.  My focus was on locating the American dipper songbird I had recently photographed on the river nearby our home.

The American Dipper
The American Dipper on the Middle Fork of the John Day River.

Driving along the wintry river’s edge, a passing glance caught the large head “periscoping” above the ice-channeled water flow, followed by two more large rolling brown bodies submerging themselves out of sight. River otters! 

The first concern: being less than 25 yards away from them, would stopping and backing up a truck to the shoulder of the county road scare them off? It did not. Quickly, turning off the engine, I realized I was blocked by shrubs, so I grabbed a point-and-shoot camera setup, got out of the truck, knelt in the snow using a red osier shrub as a blind, and hoped for at least a couple of hand-held captures of a river otter romp. (This approach was a huge exception for me. I never get out of my truck while shooting, I use a long-distance lens with the truck as a photo blind to avoid entering wild animals’  comfort zones.)

river otter head
River otter head periscopes above the river’s surface to see further.

Their feeding frenzy was on, and the otters paid me no heed. Still, I did not want to disturb them. I got back into the truck, quietly released the brakes, rolled to a clearing and crawled into the passenger seat with the larger lens setup (840mm) pointed out the window. I had the good fortune to spend nearly an hour recording the wild otters “naturally” going about their day.

Three river otters feeding on bridgelip sucker fish.
River otters, in a feeding frenzy, caught fish after fish (bridgelip suckers) for nearly an hour.  

It was apparent that many fish were pooled up in a deep hole in the river. The otters worked as a team, stirring up and rolling down into the depths, and often surfaced simultaneously with fish clenched between their jaws. If a fish was a hard swallow due to its size, the otters hauled it onto the ice and worked to swallow the fish whole. 

The otter hauled various sized fish onto the ice and worked to swallow them whole. Most of the fish were bridgelip sucker fish.

Otters are not always frolicking and friendly. The first two years of life are high risk for predation by birds of prey, bobcats, cougar, coyotes, bears and even dogs. They will aggressively defend their young. 
They are carnivores with big canines and strong molars for chewing.

All this action was fast and furious, and had to be exhausting based on the number of times they all hauled themselves out, piled together to groom one another and rest, then scurried to a nearby rock to drop their feces, and returned to the fast flowing river to dive for fish again.

Otter hands and feet are webbed for strong swimming ability, but toes are sharply clawed for land travel and for snagging slow moving fish. 
Body contact is desired for warmth, bonding and as an alert that the romp is leaving. No one wants to dose off and be left behind!
“Oh my gosh, I am just pooped!” (Actually, this is how facial fur is conditioned by pressing out moisture and spreading oil from facial glands.)
Feces deposited on a nearby rock are olfactory messaging to other groups, plus no polluting the water near their food, source!
Young otter assessing if it can swallow this one whole.

The  constant motion did not go unnoticed by other hungry creatures in the area. A couple of bald eagles circled above and were spotted by the otters.  When cramped muscles and frozen fingers made me pull away to turn the truck around and head home, I repassed the otters’ fishing hole the moment one eagle dive-bombed an otter to either prey upon it or steal its catch. It was flushed off by the timing of my arrival.

A second bald eagle flying the river corridor for feeding opportunities. It is a natural predator of the river otter.

 

Caught by the eye, movement in the sky.
Probably sibling otters, watching their surroundings after an eagle’s appearance.
It’s over.

I probably made a friend for life with that otter. “Not only did she not interfere with our feeding frenzy, she warded off a stalking eagle! Dam! I mean damn!”

River otters
This mother and her two first year young form a “romp.” They are very intelligent, affectionate, cuddling for warmth when water saturates their fur (due to low body fat below!), and eat a large portion of their body’s weight per day. The fish targeted were mostly slower moving non-game suckers.

As a species, they are at the top of their food chain. Because of this, they are important as indicators of the health of the waterways they occupy. Polluted waters cannot support populations of otters. 

The day of the otters, unforgettable.

Link to slideshow: “An Otter Romp on the Middle Fork.”

Kitchen Window Bird Photography – 2022

… Terry Steele, Spring – 2022

After several years of doing very little kitchen window bird photography, I got the bug when a male downy woodpecker kept coming into our diseased corkscrew willow tree.

Downy Woodpecker (male)
Downy Woodpecker (male) in corkscrew willow.

I would have liked to have a few more exotic birds come in, but you take what you get. I decided to limit the shoot to birds that arrived by the end of May. I just have too many yard, garden and orchard chores as summer begins.  The unusual mix of warm days followed by cold and late snowfalls left us with fewer numbers of birds than we’d normally expect. On the other hand, weather fallouts provided good opportunities to photograph many species right out the kitchen window.

The images below follow the season as it  happened, with budding trees followed by late snowfalls into May.

Downy Woodpecker (male)
Downy Woodpecker (male)
Eurasian Dove
Eurasian Dove
Red Crossbill (male)
Red Crossbill (male)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (male)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (male)
Lazuli Bunting (male)
Lazuli Bunting (male)
Evening Grosbeak (male)
Evening Grosbeak (male)
Evening Grosbeak (female)
Evening Grosbeak (female)
Tree Swallows (male and female)
Tree Swallows (male and female)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (male)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (male)
Cassin's Finch (female)
Cassin’s Finch (female)
Say's Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Western Bluebird (male)
Western Bluebird (male)
American Robin
American Robin. Although very common, this is a favorite shot from this spring.
Brewer's Blackbird (male)
Brewer’s Blackbird (male)
Eurasian Dove
Eurasian Dove
Evening Grosbeak (male)
Evening Grosbeak (male)
Red-winged Blackbird (female)
Red-winged Blackbird (female)
White-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Cassin's Finch (male)
Cassin’s Finch (male)
Killdeer
Killdeer
Pine Siskin (male)
Pine Siskin (male)
Spotted Towhee (female)
Spotted Towhee (female) – a mid-April snowstorm interrupted spring feeding on earthworms. We scraped off a patch of snow where birds were foraging slugs, grubs and worms. Snow showers continued to happen through the 19th of May!
Varied Thrush (female)
Varied Thrush (female)
Western Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
American Kestrel (female)
American Kestrel (female) – with prey, probably a pine siskin.

 

Say's Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe – the easiest photographed of all our birds.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1st year)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1st year)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1st year)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1st year)
Nashville Warbler (male)
Nashville Warbler (male)
Yellow Warbler (male)
Yellow Warbler (male)
Calliope Hummingbird (male)
Calliope Hummingbird (male)
Calliope Hummingbird (female)
Calliope Hummingbird (female)
Calliope Hummingbirds
Calliope Hummingbirds – the first to arrive in April frequent our feeders in large numbers.
Western Bluebird (male)
Western Bluebird (male) – pulling worms from the lawned I just cleared of snow. 
Western Bluebird (female)
Western Bluebird (female)Northern Flicker (male)Northern Flicker (male)
Rufous Hummingbird (male)
Rufous Hummingbird (male)
Rufous Hummingbird (female)
Rufous Hummingbird (female)
Tree Swallow (male)
Tree Swallow (male)
Say's Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe – our earliest arrival of spring migrating birds.
Bullock's Oriole (male)
Bullock’s Oriole (male)
Bullock's Oriole (female)
Bullock’s Oriole (female)
Bullock's Oriole (1st yr male)
Bullock’s Oriole (1st yr male)
Yellow Warbler (female)
Yellow Warbler (female)
Warbling Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Dusky Grouse (female)
Dusky Grouse (female)
American Goldfinch (male)
American Goldfinch (male)
Chipping Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Black-chinned Hummingbird (male)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (male)
California Quail (male)
California Quail (male)
House Wren
House Wren
Lark Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Cedar Waxwing pair, initiating their nesting season as summertime wild gooseberries and orchard cherries are about to happen.

In times past, the following birds were also photographed in view of the kitchen window.

White-headed Woodpecker
White-headed Woodpecker
Brown Creeper
Brown Creeper. Since removal of diseased pine trees, we have not seen this species.
Green-tailed Towhee
Green-tailed Towhee. This is the only one we have seen on our property.
Lewis's Woodpecker
Lewis’s Woodpecker

Anna’s Hummingbird seems to be expanding its territory in eastern Oregon. These images were take in mid-August one year.

Anna's Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Cooper's Hawk with Evening Grosbeak prey
Cooper’s Hawk photographed from the kitchen window was too close to capture full-bodied. It’s prey is an Evening Grosbeak.

Foot-eating Fast-flying Falcons

by Terry Steele

Merlin, Pacific (Black) - male
Merlin, Pacific (Black) – male 

At last! I finally got a decent photograph of a male adult merlin. I have had opportunities in the near past to photograph females and juveniles, but every time I’ve seen a photograph-able male, I haven’t had my camera gear with me. 

This female merlin is not a pure Pacific merlin. Note her light eyebrow. She may be a Taiga-Pacific Intermediate.

I’ve watched this remarkable species fly down robins in or near our yard with a powerful burst of speed to overtake their prey. In 2012, in our home area, Kay and I witnessed extremely high numbers of migrating robins which resulted in more merlin sightings than we had ever experienced.

That same autumn, while cutting fence posts on a neighbor’s ranch, I watched a male merlin chasing a northern flicker. As they went out of sight, I went back to work. I’m not sure how much time had elapsed when I looked up and saw a northern flicker hot on the tail of a male merlin! The merlin had no trouble out-distancing the flicker, but the latter seemed very serious in his pursuit of this small falcon.

Merlin, Pacific (Black) - male
Merlin, Pacific (Black) – male
Northern Flicker (file photo)
Northern Flicker (file photo)

Twice in my life, I had the opportunity to observe falcons eating a whole bird. The first time was in March of 2000 at the Salton Sea in extreme southeast California. A peregrine falcon was consuming a green-winged teal. It ate everything but some feathers and intestines. When it got to the tarsi (lower legs) and feet, it swallowed those whole. 

Peregrine Falcon consuming Green-winged Teal
Peregrine Falcon swallowing the teal’s lower leg (tarsus) and foot.

 

Falcons form casts of indigestible feathers, bones, and toenails in their stomachs that are regurgitated.

Twelve years later at our home in Grant County, Oregon, I photographed a merlin through our kitchen window that was devouring a robin. Just like the peregrine falcon, it left behind a pile of feathers and intestines as it swallowed whole the robin’s tarsi and feet. Photographing through window glass didn’t yield sharp photos of this juvenile merlin, but I was hoping to catch the image well enough to record this event. I find it fascinating that both falcons ingested their prey in the same manner – right down to the last toe. They have a unique way of dealing with bones, toenails and feathers. They form throat-sized, tube-shaped casts (pellets) of indigestible parts within the stomach (wrapped in feathers), constrict esophagus muscles, throw back their heads and pop out a pellet. 

A merlin consumed a robin, including its feet.

Autumn on the Middle Fork of the John Day River

There is a period between fall migration and hardcore winter when spotting wildlife along the rivers of Grant County wanes a bit. During this time, mule deer and whitetails are in the rut (breeding season) and elk are still in higher country.  The colorful foliage in riparian zones is stunning, however. Recently, we headed out with our photo gear, expressing that our jaunt up the Middle Fork may produce little more than a very pleasant tour of the colorful autumn day. 

Perched to digest a full crop, this Bald Eagle spent the day in the riverside Cottonwoods.
Perched to digest a full crop, this Bald Eagle spent the day in the riverside Cottonwoods. (Terry Steele)

You never know for certain, despite the known trends, how any given day will produce photograph-able wildlife subjects or leave you “skunked.” This was our first road trip together this season. To say we were rusty at synchronizing our ability to spot, stop and shoot is an understatement. Either one of us would “spot,” the driver must instantly “stop,” and the camera must be focused to “shoot” from either side of the vehicle. Most of the day we were very fortunate to be spotting more subjects than expected. Terry insisted to be the driver this day, setting Kay up to do most of the shooting.Osprey, well-fed, in the Douglas Fir above the river. (Kay Steele)Osprey, well-fed, in the Douglas Fir above the river. (Kay Steele)

However, most of our subjects were at the extremes of a shoot-able range – either farther out than desired, or too close to focus. Just the same, we were successful in finding some wonderful subjects in beautiful fall colors. The red osier  (dogwood bush) is particularly beautiful  and, after dropping its leaves, reveals the smaller birds we cherish – the black-capped chickadees and the ruby-crowned kinglets.

Black-capped Chickadee in red osier. (Kay Steele)
Black-capped Chickadee in red osier. (Kay Steele)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Kay Steele)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Kay Steele)
It is often difficult to see the ruby display of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. (Kay Steele)
It is often difficult to see the ruby display of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. (Kay Steele)
American red squirrel (Kay Steele)
American red squirrel (Kay Steele)

If there is an American red squirrel (pine squirrel) in the area, it will often find you, and scold! Terry spotted this one, silently perched and felt it appears to be an unusually colored one for Grant County, Oregon.

Birds of prey dominated the day. It was really intriguing to see two phases of the Red-tailed Hawk that we had never photographed before. Topping off our day on the Middle Fork, Terry photographed an adult Intermediate Red-tail, and Kay captured an unusually white juvenile Red-tail, lite-phase. 

Red-tailed Hawk, Intermediate (Terry Steele)
Red-tailed Hawk, Intermediate (Terry Steele)
An unusually whitened lite-phase juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, with a full crop.

The work of this day is dedicated to the memory of our very dear friend, Nancy Kay Hiatt who passed away 10/22/18. She will remain an inspiration to help us focus on all things beautiful and good in this world.

Bald Eagle -autumn leaves (Kay Steele)