The Charismatic River Otters of Port Townsend

Photography and Story by Sara Montour Lewis


This spring day had me roaming all over the north Sound. It was the first true warm day of the year and I was more than ready to spend the entirety of it basking in the (finally) warm rays next to our majestic Salish Sea. A tour around Whidbey Island didn’t turn up very much wildlife, so on a whim I decided to jump on the ferry at Fort Casey, enjoy the ride across the Sound, and spend the rest of the day in Port Townsend. As luck would have it I was able to spend that sunset with a couple of very hungry (and adorable!) river otters that used a close rock as a dinner plate (until the tide submerged it again as the sun set).

Pelagic cormorants in Puget Sound

Pelagic cormorants near the ferry terminal at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island.

Seattle Wildlife Photographers

A bald eagle soaring above the Point Wilson Lighthouse with the Cascades Mountains in the background.

A very serious California sea lion floating along in the current off of Point Wilson.

Rhinocerous Auklets in breeding plumage flying towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Seattle Wildlife Photography

A herring gull keeping an eye on the sky (with good reason, as seen below)

Wildlife Photographers in the Pacific Northwest

A bald eagle perched overhead, looking over Point Wilson

Seattle Wildlife Photographers

A North American river otter posing perfectly on a rock that was revealed by the low tide

Sea Otter recovery in the Pacific Northwest

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Otter recovery in Washington state

Dinner #1 with this North American river otter

River otters in the Salish Sea
Seattle Wildlife Photographers
Otter Photographic Prints
Sunset at Fort Worden
Pinniped populations in Puget Sound

A harbor seal taking a sunset swim at Fort Worden

Seattle Wildlife Photographers

Dinner #2 for this hungry guy/gal

Otter predation in Puget Sound
Otters at Fort Worden in Port Townsend
How to photograph otters
Stock Video of North American River Otters

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Sunset from Fort Worden
 
 
 

Sara Montour Lewis

Sara is a photographer and is the founder of Our Wild Puget Sound. If she isn't busy working behind the camera you'll inevitably find her kayaking on the Sound, checking for chicken eggs in her backyard, or exploring the vast expanse of the Puget Sound Watershed tracking down the details for our next story.

Connect with her online: Website — Instagram — Twitter

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