Nature Watch at Hudson River in Staatsburgh, NY

Watchable Wildlife at Mills Norrie State Park

Staatsburgh, Dutchess County
Among the wildlife that can be enjoyed atMills Norrie State Park are: wood ducks, common mergansers, great blue herons, bluebirds, muskrats, white-tailed deer, red foxes and river otters.

River otters, members of the weasel family, are particularly popular with the public. Cute and clownish, they are natural if inadvertent entertainers. For example, when otters slide downhill through snow, they appear to be having fun as they form troughs reminiscent of the pattern left by children usingsaucers. Although river otters are active year-round, they spend most of their time in the water. Look for them there or along the shores of various water bodies.

Nature Notes: River otters are primarily visual predators; their eyes are shaped in a way that helps them see under water. When the water is murky, their whiskers help them locate the movement of prey. Read more about river otters in Conservationist, The River Otter: Surprising Little Clown (December 2013).

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NYSDEC/bulletins/1413a23