[birding] Doves, Otters, Eagles

[Will Wright]

     On my way south on 99 at 7:30 am I saw a Eurasian Collared Dove on the wires across the street from Willamette Graystone.  There was another along the same lines one half mile further south just before Homegrown Gardens.  
     Then I stopped in at McFadden and was pleased to be joined at the duck blind by a family of 6 otters.  Mom, Dad, and 4 young about the size of cats were easily catching lots of fish.  The little ones spent lots of time peeping and trying to climb on Mom's back.  Finally she relented and went up on the grassy island and let them suckle briefly.  When Dad tried to join them, Mom squawked at him.
     Suddenly all the ducks on the pond flew up, and an adult Bald Eagle flew into a tree at the north end, joining a juvenile already perched there.
     On the way back to the parking lot a started raccoon galloped off the trail, scattering the eastern cottontails.

--Will