Otter Survey Report by Anna:

After a morning filled with dolphin dorsal fin images (try to say that ten times fast), Renee, Elfrieda, Renata, Alejandra and I drove to Moss Landing to observe otter behaviors. Today we set up shop in Area 10, which is on the eastern side of the Route 1 bridge. We typically observe otters foraging on large gaper clams in this area and we also watch them traveling through from the middle parts of the slough out to the harbor area. Today, we did not observe very many otters at all. We obseverved two playing for a little while, but mostly took notes on otters for only a few minutes at a time as they travel/groomed quickly past our observation point. Renata tried to demonstrate to the otters that this was a good area for foraging, but they didn't take the bait.

Although we took home a lot of empty data sheets, and do not have much quantitative data to contribute to the project, we did take home a lot of qualitative data. It is fun to observe the same otter for hours in the harbor as it rests, grooms, and plays; but it is just as important to catch those brief glimpses of otters as they are traveling or being generally elusive in the less populous areas of the slough. One of our research questions is to know where the otters are in the slough, and to properly answer this query, we must also determine where the otters are not. It takes a lot of patience to observe the less populous areas. Way to go team!

As a consolation prize for her patience, Elfrieda found some fishing line that she can use to create some beaded jewelry. The removal of this discarded line from the banks of the slough will also be greatly appreciated by the birds and other wildlife that can easily become easily entangled in such an item.