Thursday, March 6, 2014

River Otters




The otters that have been coming through the park for the last several years arrive within the first two weeks of March and stay anywhere from 3-5 days before moving on.  I had gone Monday to check but no sign and then sleet came mid day.  I decided to go first thing this morning as the weather was going to deteriorate later in the day with rain tomorrow.  My gut feeling paid off.
Again this year the light was just horrible.  They seem to arrive when it is very overcast and by the time the weather clears they have moved on.  Following that pattern they will be gone by the weekend when nice weather arrives.

I did manage to get a few shots this morning though not the best.  They are delightful creatures to watch.

After I arrived home, I realized I had left something where I had been sitting so had to turn around and go back.







When I started across the bridge I heard noises and lots of splashing.  I could see that it was the otters and thought at first they were just playing.  Oh no....spring is in the air and those mating instincts were calling.  I only had my 100-400 lens with me but took a shot knowing it was almost too far away.  Where was the Tamron 150-600.....at home, being prepared to ship back.  &(*&$@# auto-focus just stopped working!!!!  So much for that lens.















4 comments:

ME2NC said...

I love otters. They are so much fun to watch.

Sorry the Tamron didn't work out. Are you going to try another copy of one or just move on?

Weather improvement coming. Yay!

Nature Girl said...

Me too. They always look like they are having so much fun. Did a request to return the lens. Sadly, I no longer have any confidence in the lens. I have a 400mm prime coming today and will use is with a 1.4 extender so that will give me around 560. I tried a friends and got much sharper than with the Tamron. The new lens should arrive today and I already have extender. Yay for the weekend weather!

Leslie C. said...

Hello! What park were the otters at? I love all of your pics. They are really good.

Nature Girl said...

Hi Leslie, Thanks. They were over at Yates Mill County Park. Unfortunately they only just pass through staying usually around three days. First in March then again around the end of October.