It does look like a river otter! We see them on rare occasion here too. I hope you let it go without harm.....its illegal to mess with them in my neck of the woods.
Edited to add:after checking out the pic again, it kind of looks like a mink too. River otters have long tails and are alot bigger than a weasle
Oh wow...I am in Orange Cty NC and didnt realize we had them...he sure is pretty...reminds me of my ferret but I surely dont want it after my birds!!!!! How was it getting your birds, were they free ranging or was he getting in the coop? Just want to make sure my coop is secure enough!!!
I doubt it is a river otter--nose isn't big enough and they really don't prey on birds out of water--they prefer fish and mollusks. I suspect, without a good idea of size, that it is a mink--nose is right and the foot I see isn't webbed. Could also be a summer colored weasel.