Photos of Animals, Fish, Birds & Bugs on a Canoe Trip

[Marc Ornstein]

Otters on Rainbow River, Dunnellon Florida. Taken Thursday, Nov. 13th.

 

[Erica]

There are piebald dear around me. One summer a doe and her fawn hung out in a clearing near the power line. I think they done last long because they are too easy for predators, including human hunters, to see. This picture, not mine, looks the most like the last doe I saw.

 

[Gamma1214]

Most hunters around here won't shoot piebald or albino deer. Word is that they're bad luck & the shooter will die within the year.

Now, I'm not overly superstitious but there's plenty of brown deer around so I'm not risking it.

 

[Woodpuppy]

No reason to tempt fate!

 

[tketcham]

It's from a couple of summers ago but brings some color and sunshine to yet another snowy day. Not that I'm complaining, this winter has been great for alpine skiing.

Katydid, meet Lady Bug...

 

[lowangle al]

Thanks, now I know what this bug was.

 

[Gamma1214]

As they're nocturnal, most are more familiar with the sound of that insect than its appearance.

 

[Simuliumvenustum]

On a recent exploration of a beaver pond in my canoe, I spotted this northern river otter spying on me from a log sticking out of a beaver lodge. It repeatedly snorted and grunted at me, broadcasting its displeasure at my intrusion into its space. These photos are no match for the outstanding otter photos Mark Ornstein posted earlier in this thread, but it was thrilling to have an extended, up-close encounter with one, and I thought it was worth sharing.

 

[lowangle al]

Marc O's photos are hard to compete with, but I think you got some good shots. Even with almost daily sightings of otters sometime I have yet to get a good photo.

 

[Tryin']

White River, Noblesville, Indiana 04/24/2026

 

[Simuliumvenustum]

Yesterday, I took these photos of a pair of common mergansers perched on a log on the edge of a pond while paddling my canoe in north central Massachusetts. When I got inside their comfort zone, they jumped into the water and took flight, but only for a short distance. This fact, coupled with the fact that they let me get closer than usual for mergansers, and were standing out of the water, suggests they are a breeding pair, possibly with a nest nearby.