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Playful Otter
submitted by Ed and Sarah Shook |
We were riding along the North Thompson River in mid-afternoon
when sharp-eyed Sarah spotted
movement on the far bank. An otter slid down the bank into the
still water near shore.
It climbed out and repeated the exercise, then it just relaxed
and floated in the river. It seemed to
be floating on it's back with it's paws on it's chest. At a distance
we couldn't be sure.
Has anyone seen or know if otters do this?
Also, our first hummingbird returned on April 26.
There he was staring through the dining
room window asking "So where is the hummer feeder now"?
submit sightings
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Robin Spotted
submitted by Ed and Sarah Shook |
On the morning of Tuesday, December 27 at 11 am,
Sarah spotted a male robin in our yard.
He was up in the top of our big willow tree, and he was just bursting
forth with the springtime song that robins do.
As you know, the weather was just above freezing after two weeks
of rigorous and snowy weather and
temperatures to -30C. Is he a holdover, or an early
returnee?
He will still be in the valley. Keep your eyes open and report
sightings the
Wildlife watch on the ntvalley.com web site. submit
sightings.
The normal first sighting for us is right at the end of March.
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Western Grebe
Rescued by Local Residents
submitted by Ed and Sarah Shook |
Sarah and Ed Shook were riding, rounding up some cows, when the
cows discovered a creature in the tall hay.
There was a lot of commotion and hissing going on. They drove the
cows off and discovered a remarkable bird
upside down. It had a foot-long, snake-like neck and a rapier beak
and was trying to defend itself. It was about
three pounds, 30 inches long, with a white breast and neck, a dark
back and remarkable scarlet eyes.
Sarah dismounted and carefully picked it up to examine it. It
was uninjured, but because the legs were so far
back on the body it could not stand. The toes were webbed, as opposed
to webbed feet.
Ed led the horses, and Sarah carried the bird down to the river.
When it heard the running water, it became
very excited. Sarah set it in the water, it paused, made eye contact
for two seconds, then in a blink it disappeared.
It surfaced out in mid-stream and then vanished.
They found that it is a Western Grebe. Like loons,
grebes cannot walk and can't take off on land. Therefore,
if they are stranded beyond belly-scooting distance from water,
they are helpless.
Fortunately they came along before the resident coyotes
We would love to hear about your encounters with
wildlife in the North Thompson Valley.
We welcome your stories and photos to be used on our "Wildlife
Watch" page.
To submit your stories, use our online form submit
content.
