[obol] 3 Otters by day, night 2 beavers & 32 bird species! Beaverton

[Annette (Lange) Hildebrand]

Wow,
Some days unfold and keep on with beautiful discoveries as the hours pass.
Beaverton's "Koll Wetlands", now Creekside office area, between Scholl's Ferry
and Hall, West of Nimbus 
had 32 different bird species yesterday.  
Most interesting was:
young spotted sandpiper
Cooper's Hawk (Sharp-Shinned?) being chased by seven crows.  However the 
hawk would not be run off and returned to various trees nearby.
Red-Tail parent still hunting for the noisy, and quite large, young one still hanging out in the trees, also nearby.
Band-Tailed Pigeons  six or so and so pretty up close.  Love their colorful bill and feet.
 
Romping and diving and swirling were three otters.
One caught a fish and brought it up to shallower waters to eat it.
I could actually hear it chomping away.  Wish I had a scope as couldn't
tell for certain what it was.  Maybe a catfish?
 
And although for 15 years or so, I've seen signs of beavers, in this location, 
 I've never actually
seen one here.  Tried very hard to turn large Nutrias into a beavers ... but Nutrias
love grass and foliage.  Last night however, 9:30 with the light fading, 
two beavers were swimming and eating.  The shallower water, perhaps they were
sitting? made their tails jut out at a 45 degree angle.  Could see the big flat "oar"
and noticed how much bigger their hind quarters were.  Also their ears stick out
a bit and face is less hairy than a Nutrias.  I was thrilled.
Though not eating twigs or trees this time, they were eating rolled up "gunk", I'm
sure there is a more scientific name for it, but I have seen a beaver do this once
in Idaho.
Needless to say, I was thrilled!
Enjoy summer!
Annette Lange Hildebrand
 


      
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