September/October news

September 10, 2009-

Found active latrine site north of J. Dunn bridge.

Some of scat collected.

August 1 Update

Apologies for being out of touch. I've been busy with N. Goshawk surveys all summer.

The latest big (and sad) news is that an adult female otter was killed on the highway near Pilar last Tuesday July 21st(?) It turns out that she appears to have weaned some pups recently. All eyes should be on the look out for any lost-looking young otters in that area. They should be about half size. If you see any please get in touch. My cell # is 505-660-3374.

Also I have not been able to do any checking up north, (north of Hondo) has anyone else?

Thanks-

Brian Bari

6/1/09 Lots of otter news lately

 June 1 - During the past 3 weeks there have been numerous otter sightings reported. One photographer managed to get a photo of 3 otters in one frame!

Contact

I havn't heard any otter news lately. If anyone wants to contact me, please use my yahoo address;

urtbawa@yahoo.com

OK, what is it?

Beaver........... about the same size as an otter, and sometimes hard to distinguish at a distance.

Other otter sign to look for:

Later in the day this carp head was removed by a happy raven.

There have been a few sightings at Orilla Verde lately. This is very public area and we are discouraging people from seeking this otter out, fearing that too much attention will run it out of the area.

If anyone has time to check up north, in Wild Rivers, Sunshine, and Colorado border, that would help. Also the Chama.

I checked the lower Chama(from Abiquiu dam down) the other day and was surprised to not find any sign. The river is running high and many beaches are submerged.

Otter sighting at Taos Junction Bridge

March 24-

My first otter sighting since the release!

It was a very brief sighting, and not a satisfying look. It was 11:30 am, right below the Taos Junction Bridge. It was foraging in the eddy of a mid-river rock. I watched from about 100 yards away with my binoculars as it dove a few times, then moved away towards the bridge. I ran up to the bridge hoping for a better look, and a photo, but it disappeared completely. I stayed in the area for a few hours and rechecked the river from time to time, but never saw it again. It may have gone into a beaver den or rock cavity near the bridge. I searched for tracks in the area but didn't find any. This is a very busy area and there was a group of canoeists(and 2 dogs) preparing to launch about 50-75 feet from where the otter was, who didn't see it. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo. In hind sight I should have stayed in the truck and just watched.

The river is running very high (1100cfs) and most of the beaches and mud bars are under water.

There were two other sighting reports in the last couple of weeks. One nearby in Orilla Verde, and one on the Rio Pueblo de Taos near Ranchitos Road.