Tag Archives: Kirkland

Invading the Privacy of Otters

When you are watching wildlife, you don’t have the same considerations that you would for other people.  I was down at Juanita Bay one evening and realized that there were a couple of otters on the bank.  It rapidly became apparent that they were in the process of mating.  This went on for ages.  The male had the female grasped tightly.  They would end up in the water where he almost seemed to be drowning her.  Then they would end up on land again where he would continue to grip her tightly.  The occasional yelp would be issued and then they were back in the water.

A load of people were gathered by this point watching this process.  The idea that a large group of people would hang around and watch humans doing this would involve a violation of a bunch of laws – at least in the US.  However, we are fascinated by animals so there we all stood.  Eventually I had other things to do so, while close encounters with otters are prized, it was time to move on.  I guess we shall find out before too long if we have a bunch of new little otters in the park.

Fearless Red Wing Blackbirds

Most of the animals in the park are pretty accustomed to the humans.  Provided we remain a reasonable distance away, they are comfortable getting on with their lives.  Get too close, and they will be spooked.  The exception to this rule is red-winged blackbirds.  They really seem to be quite blasé about the humans.  Stand on the boardwalks and they might come and land on the handrail next to you and wander up alongside you.  Sudden movements might scare them, but steady movements won’t phase them at all.  While watching other wildlife, you can almost not realize that they are there.  I find my phone is the best option for getting images because they are too close for the regular set up.

This Turtle is Not Like the Others!

There are loads of turtles in Juanita Bay and, on a sunny day, they will be out of the water and sunning themselves.  I saw a bunch of them on the shore and was not bothered since this is hardly a new shot.  Then I noticed something that seemed outsized.  I couldn’t make it out exactly but took some shots to review later.  Turns out to be a different species of turtle to our regulars.  This fella is way bigger than the rest.  I don’t know if they are common in Lake Washington or whether this is an unusual visitor, but it certainly was large.  The other turtles didn’t seem bothered, though.

Who’s Attacking Who?

There are plenty of great blue herons that hang out in Juanita Bay.  While they are quite calm most of the time, they do get a little aggravated if they intrude on each other’s turf.  If one flies close to another, a little spat will ensue.  What is hard to tell is who is the one that is the aggressor and who is the one on the receiving end.  A pair of them ended up circling and wheeling around over the water one evening.  I wasn’t entirely sure how it had started but they were coming around on each other repeatedly.  Eventually they went in different directions and it was all over.  I’m not sure if either of them ended up in the space that they were fighting over!

Ride the White Swan (Or Great Blue Heron)

In some previous posts I have discussed how aggressive the red-winged blackbirds can be towards the great blue herons.  The herons are quite happy to eat the chicks of the blackbirds, so the aggression is justified.  One of the herons was flying in my direction when a blackbird swooped down at it.  It came in from above and behind and started to attack the heron.  I got a sequence of shots as this evolved and my favorite is one where it actually looks like the blackbird is riding the heron.  If only it had some reins!

How Many Coots Do You Need to Stay Safe?

We went through a phase at Juanita Bay when the number of coots really rocketed.  They were a popular source of food for the local eagles, but they had to work for it.  The coots were gathered in large groups on the water and the eagles would do their best to get one isolated so that they could pick it off.  As they got close, the flocks of coots would get startled and would start flying around to evade the eagles.  Watching this action from a distance was fascinating as this large number of birds tried to move as one to protect themselves. Not a time for being independent!

Mergansers Show Up Before the Sun Does

We have a bunch of birds that are regulars at Juanita Bay which I will still photograph but that don’t stand out.  Then, when you walk along the shore and you see a flash of something different, you quickly change direction.  I was walking along the shore back towards the park when a white bird came into view and I saw it was a merganser.  I reversed course and managed to get some shots before it too reversed course and disappeared behind the foliage.  I was able to get some further shots further across the bay later, but they weren’t as close as this initial encounter.  Sadly, the sun had not come up very far.  It was a sunny morning, but it was midwinter and the trees were providing plenty of shade this early in the day.

Otter Carnage

Friday evening after work, the sun was out and, with the time having changed, it wasn’t getting dark too early.  I decided to have a stroll down at Juanita Bay Park before going home.  Of course, the camera came with me.  Things were pretty quiet, and I was taking a few photos but decided it was time to head home.  As I turned to walk back, I saw a friend of mine, Lee, walking towards me.  I was about to greet him when he started running towards me and called out “otters”!

I turned around a pair of otters were swimming across the bay towards us.  They came towards the little island area and climbed out on to the shore.  It is a bit difficult to get a shot there, but I managed a few.  They moved along the shore and then back into the water.  They headed out to the middle of the bay.  Clearly, they were planning on hunting so we gave them a little time.  A short while later, one appeared on the surface with what looked like a fish.

Often, when the otters have a catch, they go to a buoy to eat it but, this time, they seemed to be heading back our way.  I was hoping that they would come up on the beach to eat.  Amazingly, that’s exactly what they did.  However, it wasn’t a fish that they had caught.  It was a duck of some sort.  One of them had caught it and it didn’t seem interested in sharing too much.  It proceeded to chomp down on its meal.

The sound of a otter’s teeth crunching the skull of a duck was hard to miss as it made it’s way through its meal.  The second otter was keen to share but the first one would the carcass up and turn around to try and avoid the interloper.  This was repeated several times.  In due course, it decided it was done and just left the remains.  I suspect some bits just aren’t that tasty.  While I did get stills, the eating process was far more interesting as video, so I shot more of that.  The feathers everywhere looked quite funny as they got stuck on the otter’s head while it ripped into the body.

Waiting for the Eagle to Come My Way

I was waiting on one of the boardwalks at Juanita Bay when an eagle caught something and took it to eat on the post out in the water.  After it finished its food, it headed to one of the logs in the water to clean itself up in the lake water.  Having watched this routine a number of times, I figured that it would finish cleaning and then fly towards the trees near where I was standing.  I figured that, rather than try to get closer, I should wait where I was and have the eagle come to me.

Sure enough, the behavior was as predicted.  The eagle went to log and spent a bit of time cleaning itself up after devouring the catch.  The only tricky thing with this position was that there is a very cluttered background.  If I was shooting with my older DSLR, I would have been using a single autofocus point which would be very effective as long as I kept it on the subject.  The mirrorless cameras are much cleverer but also like to look for subjects and, if something is against a busy background, the camera might not recognize the target.  This had been an issue in a similar situation before.

This time, the contrast was sufficient to allow me to track the eagle effectively.  It came straight towards me as it headed to the trees to relax and digest its dinner.  I managed to get a few good shots of it as it got airborne and came my way.  Sadly, the conditions were rather dull and, while I got some shots, they weren’t quite as dramatic as I would have liked.  Still, head on with an eagle is always good.

You Are Not Fitting Under There

Plenty of people walk their dogs in Juanita Bay Park.  They do not always like the areas because the decking is pierced steel and is a bit harsh on their paws.  This dog wasn’t bothered, though.  Instead, it seemed more intent on finding a way to get into the shore area which was out of bounds.  Watching it starting out under the fencing, I felt a little sorry for it!