Otters!

I know that the Arcata Marsh is famous around here for its birds, and I did see lots of cool feathered creatures when I visited there on Wednesday morning. But I was extraordinarily happy when I came across two of these mammals hunting in a lake:

River Otters! The first ones I've ever seen in the wild I think! Ahhh, so cool. They kept diving underwater, showing their thick pointed tails:

Then they'd come back up chewing on what I'm guessing were little fish:

Oh my goodness. Now I can add otters to the list of crazy and amazing things I can see just minutes from my house. Northern California just gets more and more magical.

Here's a video of the two otters doing their thing. I love their little chomping jaws whenever they come up with food:

 

OK, yes, there were lots of other things to see at the marsh while I was there. When I arrived, the tide was out, and Arcata Bay was one giant mudflat:
 

A couple of hours later, the same spot looked like a different place:

The shorebirds are starting to show up in big numbers here on their southward migration (yes, it's that time already). Here's part of a mixed group of bigger shorebirds, mostly Marbled Godwits in this picture:
 

Hundreds of little sandpipers were in attendance at this marsh as well, although only a few came anywhere near my camera. Here's my first Western Sandpiper, with its pale gray-brown back and dark legs:
 

Of course this Least Sandpiper a few yards away looks completely different:
 

... Right. My best bet for distinguishing between these two birds is going to be leg color (dark vs. yellow) for a while yet.

A bunch of Willets were hanging around:
 

And a fancy Long-billed Curlew was pulling some sort of food from the marsh mud:
 

I continue to be thrilled to have Song Sparrows around (after these birds were such a friendly fixture in our old Connecticut yard they became my favorite sparrows for sure), and I met tons of these guys in the fields near the marsh. Hello handsome bird:
 

This Song Sparrow was foraging and preening as normal despite not having any tail feathers:
 

A family of Mallards was making funny shapes in a pond:
 

I saw quite a few of these pretty Anise Swallowtails (Papilio zelicaon), looking a bit like half-sized Tiger Swallowtails:
 

The Arcata Marsh is one of the public nature places closest to my house, and I'm more than happy to take advantage of its nearness. It really is a lovely place: