Mink

I spent nearly an hour with a mink at McGee Cree in March 2017
And I was very much aware of that encounter when I met a mink beside my kayak back on Thursday, October 11. Sorry about the delay in reporting. I actually want to try a technique of referencing that I will use for creating an astronomy page - non sequitur for most people  but I see some logic(?) in it.

So here I am in the kayak when the mink swims pass my bow and scrambles ashore at our "dock":

I think, thought at the time, that the leaves might be nesting material. I have not seen the mink since so will have to wait and observe tracks in the snow and maybe some interesting sights in the Spring.

I didn't want to disturb the animal - thinking of future photographic possibilities - and so I paddled away, nearly 1km, beyond Leacock, when I saw another mink:

We don't have these large blocks of  - dolomite? Anyway, I returned to our condo, slowly, looking to see if the mink was still in the vicinity - yes!

I landed and put the kayak away and then waited patiently(?) Non-invasively, I hope.

I wonder how safe the Kingfisher burrow is - it is less than 200m away, and I have seen the area and would not say I am that alert. Certainly it is not a matter of life or death for me. I have seen a raccoon in the vicinity of the burrow and a brood of Kingfishers afterwards so I do hope there is space for them.


Wise Old Bird - just experimenting after a Tom Wilson recital, Beautiful Scars.

Mink 73 to 1

If I had "shot" the animal it would be gone; however, if I photograph it 73 times in 57 minutes it is still there for you to enjoy. So that is why I prefer photography to guns. Over an hour time interval one begins to recognize some of the character of the mink - only one. Ellie had alerted me to the possibilities earlier. And so I was looking for tracks of anything along the stream.

I think these are old, sublimated snow, wind erosion, not crisp clear clean tracks just at the bridge, upstream side. I took these about 16:19 and then crossed the road to take the next one - not my first mink shot, but the first of the following sequence at 16:21

This caisson is camera 4m away from "the road" with a ditch, now nearly dry, between us.

The mink climbed up and proceeded to look out and listen. I was down wind and quiet  except for the camera shutter. It was windy and I moved about a little - put my hat under my arm because it threatened to blow off. The mink, I think, observed me but from the fact it went hunting, implies I was not of concern to it.

It then went back to the ground:

And was apparently successful. On site, I thought it was transferring a baby. However, at home, I think it caught a mole - can you see a clawed foot?

These last shots were on the run and somewhat closer to me - I'll try to do better next time!

W O B

McGee Creek: Mink and Eagles

Vicki and I measured water quality  - very good - at the bridge over McGee Creek today. We did it at +10C air temp, +2.5C water temp, before the snow came and -15C or some rumour!

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted some "unnatural" water ripples down stream and then came a rare moment of the "third kind" when a mink came into view. We were together, about 4m apart, for 30 minutes or so. Here are a few impressions.

Good hunting.

Enough for tonight.

W O B