Point Lobos: Cormorant Carcas, Black Oyster Catcher and Southern Sea Otters

November 2011: Point Lobos, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Our visit started with a blast: a couple of southern sea otters (enhydra lutris nereis) were soaking by the rocky shore in whaler cove. One of them looked very content and calm. Another (a little smaller) was incredibly playful and moving extremely fast: washing his face, scrubbing his back, checking out armpits, splashing water onto paws and chest, wiggling his tail, swimming around and jumping over his calm buddy. I think it was mother and son - based on my personal experience :)

Nearby a very bright-beaked oyster catcher was working on a clam: sliding it between rocks, then hitting it hard and eating his prize piece-by-piece.

I am partial to cormorants since I saw one under water. We saw many that day - but this one was, sadly, dead and dry.