[obol] Amazone Creek Kingfisher and Otter

[Paul Bloch]

Oregon, Lane County, Eugene, Amazon Creek.

I was riding my bicycle to work along Amazon Creek in South Eugene
and just south of 24th Ave I noticed a BELTED KINGFISHER perched on
a branch over the water.  It was such a striking pose that I stopped
to take a better look.  The kingfisher was looking straight down at
the water and I saw a bit of disturbance in the water surface which I
thought might be caused by water from a storm drain flowing into the
creek.  He dove off his branch, barely touched the water and landed
back on his spot with something in his bill.

I took binoculars out of my backpack and was able to watch as he
flipped a little fish from its crosswise orientation to swallow it
head first.  With binoculars in hand I was able to get a good look at
the water surface. There, swimming with acrobatic turns and circles,
was a NORTHERN RIVER OTTER (Lutra canadensis).  He would pause
occasionally and somehow kind of sit up in the water to give me a
look. He evidently was hunting for some food and a couple of times he
came up chomping something with a very wide mouthed crunching.  As he
circled and dove, small fish came to the surface, which is what
attracted the kingfisher, who managed to get a couple more little
fish as I watched.

Paul Bloch