Water Rats

Well, you'll have to read these backwards, because Blogger does last in at the top.

Anyway, we went over to the bird viewing area in Port A (it's next to the water treatment plant!) And the first thing we saw was not a bird, but a "Water Rat". Now at first glance you might think this is a beaver, but it's not.

I have other pictures "going away" that shows the long bare tail -- just like a big rat. (But they're not very attractive from that direction.) These animals are cousins of the rats -- they're Nutria. They are very common in wetland areas.