When I was birding at Plum Island there were not too many people there. I wasn't finding many birds either. I pulled into the last parking lot before the road closure. The area is known as Hellcat, why? I do not know. There is an observation tower. On it were three women. It was quiet and without meaning too, I could over hear their conversation even though I was at the bottom.
I know I am not an expert on birds. I am smart enough and humble enough to take advice from anyone willing to share it. I know when I go fishing that over half the people I converse with don't know anything about the sport. I spend so much time fishing that I can tell quickly if the person
a. is talking out their ass
b. knows what they are talking about and I might pick something up
c. knows more about fishing than me
When the answer is c. I shut up and listen. I once witnessed a conversation between Dave Pickering (the top carp guy in RI) and Ian Sorrell (possibly the most famous carp authority in the U.S.). I listened to them for twenty minutes just soaking it in. I didn't interupt or try to get in on the conversation... I just listened.
That said, when I am fishing or hiking, I can hold my own with all but the true experts. I've been to enough national parks, that I can contribute to a conversation. Same with fishing, spending 200 days a year fishing, if I hadn't built up some knowledge, then I'd be a complete idiot.
Birding is different. I assume (usually correctly) that anyone I stand next to with binoculars is more experienced and better than me.So I was caught off guard when I started talking to these ladies.
The water was still frozen near the tower. All the ducks were so far off they were just sillohetts and I could not make out any field marks. The ladies pointed out something to our left (not to me, but again, it was so quiet I could hear. I looked over and only 50 feet away was a river otter. This was awesome. I have only seen a couple otters in my life. Also in keeping track of animals for the year it gave me a species I could never rliably count on seeing (such as robins or squirrels). It was so close, we could make out the color of it's whiskers and eyes with binoculars
I started walking back to the car. I looked up to the ladies and gave them a friendly wave. One of them asked if I saw anything. I said I couldn't make much out being so far away. I then thanked them for pointing out the river otter. One of the ladies asked what I was talking about. When I pointed in the direction she said and I kid you not
"You mean the seal?"
After I picked my jaw off the ground I explained it was most certainly a river otter. They were happy to know they just saw an otter.
That was when I realized, not everyone
with binoculars in expert.
Ok, for those of you reading and think it is an easy mistake to make I will explain the difference. An otter is a large beautiful weasel. It might be two feet long. It is sleek. Standing all fours, it is probably 10 inches tall at the shoulder. In New England there are two types of seals. Harbor seals are the smaller of the two. They weigh a couple hundred pounds and have a layer of blubber to keep warm. However, the seals at Plum Island were the larger grey seals. They are FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS AND EASILY SIX FEET LONG. I saw one lying on an ice berg earlier in the day. Laying on its back, it's stomach is higher off the ground than an otter standing up on it's hind legs.
These ladies were very nice, but it did make me realize I might want to double check things before I take them as gospel.
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