Friday August 5, 2011
This is, for me, one of those Holy Cow! sightings. I wanted to catch the sunset last night so I went upriver to see what I could see before showtime. I was starting to think it was a mistake because the sun had disappeared behind the tree line and now this part of the river was in shadows. I prefer direct sunlight when I’m out taking pics, but it was a beautiful evening and I didn’t care. Sometimes you just can’t. You have to be in the moment and enjoy it for what it is.
I was hearing an unfamiliar noise for five or six minutes before I saw them. I didn’t know what I was hearing and I was scanning the horizon of cordgrass for some new critter to come my way. And then, there they were, not on the horizon but right there on a mud bank and not twenty feet away: Two otters. Two of them. I’ve never seen a single one outside of a zoo setting and here, on my river, were two otters. I sat there, too stunned to even pick up my camera, as they slipped into the water. I couldn’t believe it. Over the years I’ve read accounts of otters returning to the Island but sightings in Nassau County were the last I heard about. To actually see one, let alone a pair, was too much. And I knew that unless I managed to get a shot of them not many folks would believe it. Heck, I barely believed it myself, but I’ve seen too many muskrats to think I was mistaking these two for them. These were otters and I had to get a pic no matter what the lighting was like. Just enough for ID at least.
I followed their wake – the water was shallow enough due to the outgoing tide – and when they resurfaced, I was ready. Big lie there. Huge lie. How could I be ready to photograph otters? I was already nervous and jerky just from seeing them in the first place. It was all too incredible, but up they popped and clicketly-click-click-click went my camera, lousy lighting and all. These are the best shots of the bunch. Enjoy. JK