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. 

Jai Cross with fresh otter tracks, Feb 28

Feb 28

Feb 28 - Jai Cross and I revisited the Rio Grande near Arroyo Hondo and found a very fresh set of otter tracks on a small beach. 

Feb 11 - Otter trapped

Feb 11- We received the unfortunate news that one of the new otters has been trapped and killed on the Rio Pueblo. Apparently problem beavers were the intended target and the trapper was unaware of the otters in the area.

Feb 20, 2009 Buckman

Revisiting the scent post I left 2/16 I found fresh otter tracks in the mud near the scent.

Buckman/Caja del Rio otter sign. Feb 16, '09

Feb. 16, 2009- I drove out Buckman road from Santa Fe to revisit the site where I found otter sign Jan 13. I hiked cross country down river to where I thought I had been. At first I didn't find anything except a couple of catfish(?) bones on the bank, but no fresh tracks. I continued down river for a ways without seeing any sign, then turned back and walked the shore to the north. Soon I came on 2 semi-fresh spraints/scats full of fish bones. They were in the same spot where I first found the scat on Jan 13. There was no snow and no fresh tracks in the hard sand, but it was good to know that this (or these) otters was still in the area. 

Jan 19, Lobatos Bridge, Co.

At Lobatos Bridge I found the Rio Grande mostly frozen, with a few areas of open water. I did not find any sign of otters, but tracking conditions were not very good. Most of the snow on the river ice was gone, and the distance between stretches of open water likely made it difficult for otters to use this upper section of river. About 5 miles south of the bridge I surveyed 3 sections from the east rim of the gorge and could plainly see raccoon and coyote tracks in the frozen snow and ice, but saw no sign of otter activity. 

Jan 16, Buckman/Caja del Rio

Jim Stuart and I returned to the Rio Grande at Buckman and revisited the track locations I found Jan 13. We found two sets of tracks made since then. At one set of tracks the intestines of a fish(?) were left behind.

Jan 14, County line

On Jan 14, I found 2 sets of fresh otter tracks at the Taos/ Rio Arriba Co. line on the Rio Grande.

Jan 13, 2009 Buckman/Caja del Rio

I was really surprised to find otter tracks on the Rio Grande at Buckman/Caja del Rio, west of Santa Fe, but there they were, and it looked to me like it might be 3 otters. That's about 40 milers as the crow flies from the release site in Taos. I found 2 places about a mile apart, where there were fresh(within 24 hrs) tracks and spraint/scat.

Jan 11 Otter Survey

Lower Rio Pueblo

Jan 11 Otter Survey

Then at the Rio Pueblo I found many otter tracks and slides in the snow. Some were made since the last snow on Friday night.

Jan 11 Otter Survey

I first stopped at the Rio Grande at the County Line and found one possible otter track among a lot of beaver tracks.

Jan 6-7 Otter survey

Taos got about a foot of snow on Jan. 4th. I looked for tracks on the snowy banks of the Rio Grande on Jan 6, from the rim south of the high bridge using my scope. I did not see any fresh otter tracks. On the 7th I went to the Wild Rivers area near Cerro and scoped from the rim, at La Junta, Bear Crossing, and at Sheep Crossing.  Again I saw no fresh otter tracks. The snow was knee deep, and snowshoes would have helped.