Photos: Otter & Egret

I took a swing through the local wetland refuge this morning after doing my family taxi duty. I noticed some ripples in the water along the road so I got out thinking it was a duck or something. What at first looked like a nutria (our local invasive ROUS) turned out to be a pair of otters. They tried to sneak under the road via a water drain tube, but I was there when they popped out. Boy, did they take off after that, swimming below the surface for many yards.

Then, just down the road were a pair of egrets. I noticed one of the birds caught something and managed to get a few shots including the one below. I think it found a vole, which it took over the to water and repeatedly dunked before swallowing. I guess rodents must washed before eating ... Yummy.