I told one of my faithful followers just recently that one reason why I continue with this blog is the feeling of anticipation of what I might see at the marsh. Well, today was a prime example of what I meant.
What I noticed first when I entered the trail was that the ice was completely gone. The warm temps of the last two days did it in. I was walking along, watching all the buffleheads out on the water, when I caught a movement just ahead of me on the side of the trail near the water. "Good," I thought to myself, "my first sighting of a muskrat for 2011." Well, it wasn't a muskrat as you can see from the above photos. The mink slipped into the water then swam toward the shore again, came out about three metres from me, moved along the edge past me, poking its head into holes, occasionally stopping to look at me, then retraced its steps and disappeared down a hole leaving its tail sticking out. Its appearance - and disappearance - may explain all the holes I have noticed along this stretch of trail, which I had attributed to muskrats. Although the mink could have taken over a muskrat's den, which often happens. One thing I have to get used to - they are primarily carnivorous, which means, although fish are at the top of their menu, it also includes waterfowl and muskrats.
This sighting was an unusual one. I first saw this animal sitting on the edge of the ice, then it started to run, jumped into the water and swam about, then back out on to the ice, and then when it heard some people approaching along the trail it took off toward the shore. The top shot is just its silhouette, as I was facing into the sun, while in the bottom shot it's just a blur as it headed back toward shore. It must have disappeared into a hole in the bank, because I could see nothing when I reached the spot.
I'm pretty sure what I saw was a mink. When I did a little research online to see what their winter diet is, I found that mainly at this time of the year they feed on muskrats (plenty of them here!), other small rodents and waterfowl.
I observed something at the marsh this morning that probably not too many people have seen in the wild. While watching a pair of Green-winged Teals swim around clumps of grass just before the spot where the wooded section begins, I happened to see something move into the water, which at first glance I assumed was a muskrat. Then it climbed up on a fallen dead tree right in front of me, and I could tell it was a mink! While I watched - and kept snapping shots - it rubbed its body on the tree trunk for awhile, scratched itself, then settled down to sleep in the sun. It was disturbed by another itch and began scratching again. At this time, I made a little noise to get its attention - and a face-on shot - then it jumped off into the water.
The diet of mink includes frogs, ducklings, song birds, small mammals, and fish - and mink are major predators of muskrats, so personally I hope this one is just visiting!
