Bat Ray for breakfast?

 

 

River Otter (Lontra canadensis) chewing on a Bat Ray (Myliobatis californica) in Bodega Harbor on 9 March 2026.

 

The wind hadn't picked up yet, so there were some nice views of the otter swimming in shallow water along the shoreline:

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  The otter seemed to be having trouble eating the Bat Ray, perhaps due to its thick skin?  Eventually it left the ray behind and moved on.

 

Otter flow

  

River Otter in Bodega Harbor, 29 January 2026.  

[You can click on the image for a larger version.] 

 

Holiday paws

  

Nice set of River Otter (Lontra canadensis) tracks in soft sand at Point Reyes today (28 November 2025). 

Shoreline swimmer

  

Brief view of a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) in Bodega Harbor this morning (17 November 2025).

Catch of the day

  

While out early working during the low tide this morning (27 May 2025),  we were in the middle of a survey when Eric heard a splash and turned to see a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) swimming not too far away from us.  (We were somewhat hidden by a rock.)  Eventually the otter caught a large fish and it climbed up onto a rock and starting eating.  

Although we only had a point-and-shoot camera, Eric was able to take a short video.  I think this is a Striped Surfperch (Embiotoca lateralis), but if you have a different opinion, please let me know!  [If you can't see the video player in the e-mail, click on the title of this post above to find the video on the NHBH web page.]

With gratitude for sharing coastal habitats with otter and fish!

A fish sampler?

  

Got lucky and noticed this River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at the north end of Bodega Harbor on my way back from the post office today (14 October 2024).  The otter was having a lot of luck, too -- I saw it catch at least three fish in a very short time!  Above, with a flatfish...

Below, with some sort of gunnel?  (Let me know if you can tell what it is!)

 

 

 

The otter spent most of its time fishing and swimming or resting at the surface:

 

 

 

 

It also came close to shore a few times, shook, and had a look around:

 

 

 

I suppose their long whiskers are helpful for locating fish under water, but sometimes I'm still surprised at their skill and success.

 

E-fish-ent?

  

We got lucky with another sighting of a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at a different field site today (24 May 2024), and this one was a little closer, so here are a couple of quick photos.  

We were leaving a survey site and this otter appeared just behind us.  Luckily, Eric had the point-and-shoot camera in his pocket, so he snapped a photo of the otter as it moved across the rocks towards the water.  (These images were heavily cropped.)

In almost no time (less than a minute), the otter was up on the surfgrass (Phyllospadix scouleri) with a fish.  Although I shouldn't be surprised anymore, it's hard not to be amazed at how fast they can find and catch a fish!

 

 

In the sand and the swell

  

A distant view, but we don't see River Otters (Lontra canadensis) feeding on Mole Crabs (Emerita analoga) that often, so here's one for the record. 

Some people are surprised to hear that River Otters spend quite a bit of time in the ocean (rather than in freshwater habitats).  I'm used to seeing them foraging along the rocky coast, but I still feel amazed when they do not hesitate to head out into fairly good-sized swell:

 

Such strong swimmers!

Feasting on crab

  

There have been lots of folks fishing for crab off Bodega Head this week.

 

 

 

Once caught, it's important to handle your crab carefully.

 

 

 

 

And then it's time to enjoy it!

 

P.S.  Eric and I are sending warm wishes your way for a day with moments of gratitude.  Perhaps it will include a little time outside giving thanks to our wild neighbors?  And many thanks for tuning in to the Natural History of Bodega Head.  I so appreciate your company on this journey to learn about the natural world around us!

"Pupdate"

 

 

Perhaps you'll remember the River Otter family I photographed back in August?  I think the last photo I shared was on 29 August 2023.  I had photographed a mother with two pups, and the mother had a noticeable injury (likely from a white shark — see the post called "Ouch" on 28 August 2023).  

We observed the injured mother a few times after that initial sighting, but the sightings have become less frequent.  I hadn't seen the pups in several weeks, but I encountered them tonight (19 November 2023), so I thought I'd share a "pupdate."  If you compare the photos from August, I think you'll see how much the pups have grown.

I'm still keeping an eye out for their mom, but at this time I don't have additional information about her.

Staying close with your sibling

Okay, last night I mentioned there was more to the River Otter story.  A couple of days after I had noticed the mother with an injury, I was doing an unrelated survey and spotted one of the pups.  I was curious about whether the mom was alright, so I decided to watch for a little while to see if she showed up.

I stayed out of sight, and didn't know it at the time, but it was time for the otter pup to take a "gravel bath" and then a nap.  I've seen this behavior before (but not very often) and it's fun to watch — lots of rolling around and sliding through a patch of sand and gravel:

 

 

 

Afterwards the pup found a sheltered spot and curled up for a nap.  A little bit later, out of the corner of my eye I noticed the second pup approaching from a distance.  Here's a photo when it got closer to the first pup:

 

 

 

 

Over the years I've learned that young River Otters like to be close to each other, and the next scene made me laugh.  The second otter didn't lie down right next the first, it walked up on top of its sibling and sat down.  Ooof!

 

 

 

Later it shifted slightly and did some grooming:

 

 

 

Well, I'm sure you're wondering if mom showed up.  I didn't see her during this initial observation, but I swung by one more time later in the day and briefly spotted her in the distance.  And then about a week or so later I heard about another sighting of her and the two pups.  So far it seems like she is doing okay and raising healthy pups despite her injury.

Summer nap

 

 

Mom and pup River Otters (Lontra canadensis) resting in the intertidal zone on 19 August 2023.  You could tell mom was tired — she kept nodding off while the pup was fishing and returning to check in with her.  And then the pup curled up for a nap (that's mom's tail that the pup is resting its chin on).

 

A nap in the sun

  

I was working on another task today when I spotted a furry brown animal curled up on the rocks below.  A closer look revealed a sleeping River Otter (Lontra canadensis)!  I was pretty far away, but luckily I had a large zoom lens on my camera.

The otter started to wake up from its nap and at first it still looked a little sleepy:

 

 

 

Then the otter started to become more active and headed down the rocks towards the ocean:

 

 
Not a bad day for a nap on the rocks and a swim in the sea!

Such a long tail

  

Quick shot of a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) from 9 January 2023.  I especially like how you can see the length of the tail relative to the body.

3 for 3,000

Whew, well it's hard to believe, but this is post #3000!  (3000 posts over 10.5 years.)  So here's a little video clip to mark the occasion.

This is an older video (from 2018), but I've wanted to share it for a while.  It shows a River Otter family (a mother and three pups) on a morning outing — waking up from a nap, using a communal latrine, sliding down some Feather Boa kelp into the water, swimming along the shoreline together.  And it includes audio!  I've written about otter calls before — the pups use a high-pitched bird-like chirp to keep in touch with the rest of the family.

On this day I was working quietly in the low intertidal zone when I noticed this otter family swimming by.  They swam past me, climbed up onto the seaweed-covered rocks, and curled up for a nap!  I didn't want to disturb them, so I kept working and watched for activity out of the corner of my eye.  Eventually they woke up and that's when this video clip starts. 

I didn't know the otters were going to make their way back towards where I was working.  You'll see that eventually they notice me.  One of the pups makes sure the others know about me, too, and then they continue along the shoreline.

I hope you enjoy this little window into the life of River Otters.  Thanks so much for checking into the Natural History of Bodega Head blog.  Knowing you're out there inspires me to keep learning and to keep sharing.  Who knows how far beyond #3000 we'll go!

 

 

P.S.  Many thanks to Eric for helping to edit this video, and for participating in so many NHBH blog posts!

Morning adventure

  

Got lucky and noticed a River Otter ahead of us after field work this morning.  I don't always bring a larger lens with me when we're doing intertidal work, but I had one today.  Such a wonderful portrait!  I love how the brown color of the otter's fur matches the seaweed (Endocladia muricata) so well.

Fishing in the surfgrass

We were on our way out to do some early morning field work today (11 July 2021) in a rocky boulder field when I heard a high-pitched whistle.  It didn't register immediately, but when my mind starting ticking through possible options, I realized it was probably a young River Otter (Lontra canadensis).  So I looked around for a bit and finally spotted where the sound might be coming from.  Can you find the face of the adult otter in the photo below?

 

 

She's peeking out from around the seaweed-covered rock, in the middle of the photo, just right of center.  It's only her face, but you can see her eyes, nose, and whiskers.  

 

I stood very still and then watched as the adult entered the water and was followed by two young otters.  I don't often shoot video, but the point-and-shoot camera I had has that option, so I decided to give it a try.

 

It was so much fun watching the otters hunt for prey among the surfgrass (Phyllospadix sp.) and seaweeds.  They were so fluid and so fast!  They disappeared under the surfgrass blades, but their movements were still visible at the surface.  Then they would dive and reappear from below some kelp fronds.  So cool!  Here are a couple of short video clips:

 

[If you can't see the video player in the e-mail, click on the title of the post above to go directly to the NHBH website.]

And one more photo, of the mom (on the right) and one of the young ones (on the left), both feeding on fish:

 

 

Catch of the day

I was working at my desk when Eric came by to let me know there was a whale close to shore.  I went out to see if it was still there and didn't see it, but something else caught the corner of my eye while scanning for signs of the whale.  It was strange — I didn't immediately have an idea about what I was seeing.  From a distance it looked like a piece of driftwood, but it appeared to be swimming, so I kept watching as it approached the shore.  Here's my first view with the zoom lens:

 

 

Things were happening kind of quickly, so while looking through the camera I still wasn't quite sure what it was, but I kept taking photos:

 

 

Perhaps you can tell that this is a mammal swimming with a large fish?  In the previous photo, you can just barely see the mammal's nose while it held the fish crosswise in its mouth.

 

I finally processed that this was a River Otter (Lontra canadensis).  I don't think I've seen one with such a large fish, so although the otter disappeared behind some rocks, I had an idea about where it might be headed to eat the fish, so I checked to see if the otter had come ashore and whether I had a chance to identify the fish.  Here's the next view, zoomed in from far away (luckily I had a large lens on the camera!):

 

 

 

And another showing the length of the fish:

 

 

 

Wow!

 

I'm pretty sure this is a Monkeyface Prickleback (Cebidichthys violaceus).  I did a quick measurement from the photo and estimated that the prickleback was about as long as the otter's body (minus the tail).  And knowing the average length of an adult otter's body, I was able to estimate that the prickleback was ~27 inches long.  I read that the maximum size of Monkeyface Pricklebacks is ~30 inches, so this is about as big as they get.

 

One more picture of the otter starting to eat its prize:

 

 

 

I'd call that the catch of the day!

In the kelp

  

We've had a very busy week of early morning field work, but here's a photo from a few days ago.  We came upon this River Otter (Lontra canadensis) in the rocky intertidal zone.  The otter alternated between napping and grooming...including a few back-rubbing episodes!  This kelp-covered rock seemed like a perfect place to rest and prepare for the next adventure!

Belly full of fish

 

Wishing you good health, happiness, and a belly full of fish in the New Year (or whatever you'd like to wish for!).