Amazingly there is an otter in the lake on our golf course right off our back deck! I’ve seen him there before but I’ve never been able to take his picture because I have to cross the fairway and there have always been golfers at play.
The sun had just gone down, so my ISO was up pretty high. I had to aggressively crop because even with my 28-300mm lens, I still couldn’t get a close enough shot of this little guy without cropping.
I was really excited when he hopped out of the water on the bank across the lake! What luck. He was checking out the ducks and the heron intently. They weren’t too concerned about him…although maybe they were wondering if he was going to eat all their fish. 😉
The little guy seemed interested in me. For his final act, he dove under the water and started swimming toward me! I could see the air bubbles in the lake as they approached me. Honestly I was so giddy I was trying to change the settings on my camera but really didn’t have time, so I snapped two pics of him as he surfaced and stared at me.
After his final appearance, he dove under never to be seen again that evening. I’m thinking there must be an underground water tunnel of some sort. River otters can walk a long way too. There was one walking down our town’s main street not too long ago; and with all the rivers around, they seem to be adapting to us quite readily.
I love seeing him and I hope you enjoy the pics!
Laura Macky Photography 
October 13, 2016 at 1:28 pm
He’s gorgeous Laura – fabulous captures!😃
October 13, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Thank you Joanne 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 1:34 pm
Beautiful pictures of an otters sleekness. They can be quite nasty. One got into a goldfish pond, ate what he wanted, and left the remains scattered near the pond for the owner to clean up. The fish had known only the owners love.
October 13, 2016 at 1:47 pm
Thank you 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 1:38 pm
Got your heart pumping didn’t it 🙂
Wonderful shots, congratulations. Now go out and get a big lens and stalk the local critters.
October 13, 2016 at 1:47 pm
It sure did! Funny. 🙂 Thanks for the congrats!
October 13, 2016 at 1:41 pm
What an exciting sighting! Great series of him too!
October 13, 2016 at 1:47 pm
It really was! Thank you for checking them out. 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 1:45 pm
Great shots. My guess is there is more than one otter 😀
October 13, 2016 at 1:48 pm
Thanks. I think I saw two of them one time. And you’ll laugh at this…one time I thought I saw the otter and ran down there because there were no golfers. It ended up being a skin diver collecting golf balls. 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 1:50 pm
Otters hold hands and drift in the when sleeping or relaxing. You might want to go out at night. But leave the stub gear behind😀
October 13, 2016 at 2:44 pm
I’ve seen them do just that! We see sea otters frequently in Monterey and I have seen them hold hands! Really so sweet. I may just go down there after dark during a full moon and check out the scene….and yes I’ll leave my gear behind. 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 2:31 pm
Nice captures. Ironically, in the last photo, the heron is doing a goose step.
October 13, 2016 at 2:46 pm
It is!! I rather chuckled at that scene. I just wish I could’ve captured it crisply. I’m not very good at wildlife photography, especially when it’s dark like that. Thanks David. 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 3:05 pm
Great shots. What fun to witness!
October 14, 2016 at 7:17 am
Thank you Belinda. I’m smiling just remembering it!
October 13, 2016 at 3:54 pm
WOW!!! I’ve only seen an otter in captivity in a place here called Sea World. I can no longer go to places like that because it hurts too much to see these beautiful animals taken from their natural habitat and home. Thank you, Laura!!! Excellent images and the one of the heron is just so cool!!! Lucky you!!! ❤
October 14, 2016 at 7:20 am
Thank you so much Amy! I don’t like going to those places or zoos anymore for that matter. I loved how inquisitive it was. And I’m telling you when I saw him dive under and all I could see were the air bubbles coming closer and closer, I was so excited! My fingers were fumbling on my camera haha. Thank you for loving this little guy. 🙂
October 14, 2016 at 2:13 pm
OH I’ve been in the fumbling fingers position before and that being the case you shot dynamite shots. Good for you!!! 🙂
October 14, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Thanks Amy. 🙂 It’s so different trying to photograph animals because they’re always moving and the light was so difficult. I’m glad I got him though. So cute!!
October 13, 2016 at 4:43 pm
Wow, such great luck and photos!! He soooo cute!! ❤️😍
October 14, 2016 at 7:20 am
I knowwww!!! I was so excited! Thanks John. 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 5:05 pm
He did a nice pose for you. Great shots! 🙂
October 14, 2016 at 7:20 am
He sure did. 🙂 Thanks much!
October 13, 2016 at 5:09 pm
Awesome! I saw two on Vanvcouver island~
October 14, 2016 at 7:21 am
Maybe distant relatives. 😉
October 13, 2016 at 5:59 pm
How thrill to see otter there, so unexpected. 🙂 Great captures. Love the last one, too.
Thank you for the post, Laura! ❤
October 14, 2016 at 7:21 am
Thanks for checking them out, Amy. 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 6:26 pm
Love the picture where its head pokes out of the water!
October 14, 2016 at 7:21 am
Me too! He was curious!
October 13, 2016 at 6:37 pm
Now that’s totally cool
October 14, 2016 at 7:21 am
Thanks Juan. 🙂 Such a cute little guy.
October 13, 2016 at 7:19 pm
otterly sweet
October 14, 2016 at 7:22 am
hehehe that is so cute 🙂
October 13, 2016 at 10:19 pm
Otters are like cats; if you move them from their habitat to another place they will always try to find their way back. They are shy creatures and the best time to picture them is late evening or early morning. But one has to be lucky. At least you were!!! Nice work!
October 14, 2016 at 7:24 am
Hi Herman 🙂 I like the comparison to cats. How sweet. 🙂 I saw him the next day in the early morning. A couple of months ago there were two in there. I’m so glad I was lucky! I was giddy. 😀
October 13, 2016 at 11:06 pm
Otters are one of my favourite animals…..what a treat 😊
October 14, 2016 at 7:25 am
Then I’m so glad I had these pictures for you! I was so excited Mark. And when he jumped on the bank I couldn’t believe my luck! Thanks for your comment. 🙂
October 15, 2016 at 1:09 am
I’m glad you took them too Laura 😊
October 13, 2016 at 11:52 pm
How amazing!! So good see wildlife managing in our environment! 😊
October 14, 2016 at 7:26 am
YES!! They are adapting to our environment really well evidently. They’re making a huge comeback. 🙂
October 14, 2016 at 2:00 am
Otters and baths!
October 14, 2016 at 7:26 am
lol
October 14, 2016 at 5:08 am
Reblogged this on lucesensibileblog.
October 14, 2016 at 7:27 am
Thank you Fabio. You are always so sweet to reblog.
October 14, 2016 at 7:46 am
Fun! Love otters 😊.
October 14, 2016 at 7:51 am
Me too Pam 🙂 Thanks!
October 14, 2016 at 8:47 am
Wow I just found your blog and your photos are amazing!! Love all your shots! It’s so fun for me to meet new bloggers and see their work too! Looking forward to future posts!
October 14, 2016 at 10:16 am
Hi there! Thank you for enjoying what I do! I appreciate it! 🙂 Have a great day.
October 14, 2016 at 4:45 pm
I love otters! You got some great pics- especially of him swimming towards you👌👌👌!
October 15, 2016 at 10:48 am
You do? How great that I could share the pics with you then! They are cute little guys. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them.
October 15, 2016 at 12:08 am
those are some cool portraits 🙂
October 15, 2016 at 10:49 am
Thank you. 🙂 Cute little guy.
October 15, 2016 at 8:05 am
Oh how wonderful!! I long to see our otters in the wild. Our species is much smaller than yours but they still have that same grace and elegance! Hope you see him more often, such a joy 🙂
October 15, 2016 at 10:49 am
They are happy little creatures! Our sea otters are larger than these river otters. I wonder what kind of otters you have?
October 15, 2016 at 4:43 pm
I’ve seen the sea otters at a sanctuary in Devon! They’re huge but what wonderful characters 🙂 Ours are the European Otter which will live on the sea shore or river banks. Same species though! They’re very secretive and shy so I’ve only seen them at sanctuaries. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/otter
October 15, 2016 at 6:03 pm
They are sort of shy. Sort of like cats in a way. That’s the energy I felt when I looked into its eyes. 👀
October 15, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Sounds like you need another camera to handle this type of situation. 🙂
Nice photos of the little guy.
October 15, 2016 at 1:23 pm
Thanks David. They were fun to get. 🙂
October 15, 2016 at 8:12 pm
Nice photos! Love the otter!! 🙂
October 16, 2016 at 7:50 am
Thank you!
October 16, 2016 at 2:30 pm
Wonderful, Laura, wish I had of been there.
October 16, 2016 at 8:27 pm
It was so cute. 😊
October 17, 2016 at 2:08 am
For me the “bird” made it into the finals. Very impressive. Stunning shot, Laura. And a cute otter series too. 🙂 Reinhold
October 17, 2016 at 7:21 am
Thank you 🙂
October 18, 2016 at 12:30 am
Oh he is beautiful .. An otter on the golf course, amazing!
October 18, 2016 at 8:17 am
Isn’t it? He was so curious too. I was so excited when he popped up right in front of me.
October 20, 2016 at 7:58 pm
Very nice! You seem to live in a pretty cool place
October 20, 2016 at 8:29 pm
Thank you! I love where we live. So much wildlife!
January 13, 2017 at 6:19 pm
nice photography blog.!!
Thanks for sharing.
Let me share some recent work done on this site….!!
Nature Wallpaper
Love Birds
February 6, 2017 at 2:58 pm
Great captures von abslutely adorable creatures, Laura! I’d go klick-klicking mad with joy. 🙂
April 11, 2017 at 8:13 am
Beautiful photos!
April 19, 2017 at 6:10 am
Good job