Welcome Back and thank you for your patience while I worked to get my computer back up and running. Hopefully, no more repairs!
Last weekend I was up early and took my kayak out for a paddle. The wind was calm and the lake was quiet as could be save for a few ducks and grebes paddling around for their breakfast. It was nice to get out and enjoy an early morning breakfast with the birds.
It takes about 40 minutes to paddle from the boat launch to the southwest tip of the lake. I took my time and enjoyed seeing the wildlife that is still hanging around in spite of our cool wet weather.
I was nearly at the end of the lake when I passed by a rock where about 4 ducks stood. They flew off in a panic as I approached but something furry slipped into the water and began swimming right toward me. At first I thought it was a muskrat as there are plenty of them in the lake. It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was something entirely different.
This little creature swam so close to me I thought they were going to climb right into my kayak! When I moved my paddle he turned sharply and swam back toward the shore and I followed quietly. Once back on shore, this cute little animal shook water from its coat and hurried along the shoreline, nose to the ground as it it had lost or forgotten something.
I followed for a little while before turning around and heading back to the rocks at the end of the lake where I planned to have my breakfast.
It took some time to sort out what exactly this little critter was. At first I thought it was a Pine Marten but the description didn’t fit. It was too small to be a fisher, too large and too brown to be a weasel, so that only left one thing: a mink.
The American mink are semi-aquatic carnivores that live near water. They are plentiful across Canada and eat frogs, fish, birds, squirrels, hares, and even ducks! They can swim and climb trees usually hunting at night but they can be active any time of day. Mink are generally between 55-75 cm long (22-29 inches) and can weigh between .5-1.6 kg. or 1-3 lbs.
When threatened or scared they will spray a foul-smelling liquid much like a skunk but they can’t aim their spray. They also spray when marking their territory. Mink combine a hissing sound with their defensive spraying when they feel threatened. Mink will also make purring sounds similar to a cat when they are feeling content.
I was pretty excited to encounter an animal I’ve never seen. And to see it in the wild was even sweeter. The challenge of identifying this little mustelid helped me learn more about the other animals in this family which includes otters, weasels, mink, badgers, and wolverines.
I hope you enjoyed this close encounter as much as I did. I have more images to share in the coming weeks and I got my long lens back so I hope to get out shooting more this week.
Please feel free to share and we’ll see you again next week.