Team 1 recap, Day 3:

The engine of Spyhop failed on us this morning before we were even out of the harbor!! After paddling back to the dock and a few hours of scratching our heads, we decided that a mechanic would have to come look the poor machine. Unfortunately, the mechanic wasn’t available for two days. We would have to wait on land until it’s fixed. Hannah and Hilary were very good sports about the whole ordeal, entertaining the team with a few British grammer lessons (Toodle-pip is still one of our favorites!!). Meanwhile, the otter team was busy recording behaviors and plotting out the raft formation every 15 minutes. In between 15 minute observations the team was kept busy identifying the multitude of birds that inhabit the harbor. Brown pelicans, marbled godwits, surf scoters, great blue herons, snowy egrets and Clark’s grebes are just a sampling of the bird life in the harbor. Between our field guides and the extremely helpful, local birders (who have no interest in the otters), we were able to identify a multitude of species!