My visit to the park today was exciting as I spotted something brand new -and totally unexpected! Near the very end of my walk I was crossing the foot bridge over Shingle Creek on the south side. Way off in the distance I noticed something dark out in the water (or ice) that looked a bit unfamiliar.
After the bridge I hung a sharp right onto the trail that follows the creek up stream and walked quietly just in case it wasn't just a Mallard I'd seen. At the end of the trail out near the railroad ties, I noticed something moving out on the ice. As I followed it back behind the thicket behind me, another similar shape came into view across the other side of the creek. It walked right out onto the thin ice, slinked into and under the water, popped out on my side of the creek and scurried into the same thick brush.
At the time I really had no idea as to what they were and my first thought is that they were Otters. I really didn't want to scare them off so I was zooming in as far as my camera would go. You can tell from this second and subsequent photos that it was taken just
before he dipped into the water to swim across. I wondered what in the world could so easily plunge into
-and under- this freezing water. After losing track of the one who'd gone under the water, I spotted some movement in that thick brush behind me and decided to scope it out. I loudly crunched my way into the area, thinking I'd scared off everything and just crouched there for a few minutes.
Sure enough, one popped out of a burrow right in front of me and scurried toward the creek. I could see exactly where their path was and how they were crossing the creek to the other side. I admit, I'm not all that familiar with Mammals but my field guide from Stan Tekiela was helpful in verifying them as Minks versus Otters or Weasels. Some of the more distinctive characteristics matching up nearly perfectly with the field guide are; white patch on the chin, short round ears, larger size and darker tail near the tip. Also the description of it's thick, oily, waterproof fur allowing it to swim in near freezing water pretty much convinced me I had the right animal.
This last picture is of the burrow I saw them coming in an out of. Too bad, their burrows are described as temporary as Minks are always on the move looking for their next meal. A male Mink is also said to maintain a territory of 40 acres -which is 1/5th of the whole Palmer Lake area. Hopefully I will see them again. Be sure to click on the photos for larger images!
After the bridge I hung a sharp right onto the trail that follows the creek up stream and walked quietly just in case it wasn't just a Mallard I'd seen. At the end of the trail out near the railroad ties, I noticed something moving out on the ice. As I followed it back behind the thicket behind me, another similar shape came into view across the other side of the creek. It walked right out onto the thin ice, slinked into and under the water, popped out on my side of the creek and scurried into the same thick brush. 
At the time I really had no idea as to what they were and my first thought is that they were Otters. I really didn't want to scare them off so I was zooming in as far as my camera would go. You can tell from this second and subsequent photos that it was taken just before he dipped into the water to swim across. I wondered what in the world could so easily plunge into -and under- this freezing water. After losing track of the one who'd gone under the water, I spotted some movement in that thick brush behind me and decided to scope it out. I loudly crunched my way into the area, thinking I'd scared off everything and just crouched there for a few minutes. 
Sure enough, one popped out of a burrow right in front of me and scurried toward the creek. I could see exactly where their path was and how they were crossing the creek to the other side. I admit, I'm not all that familiar with Mammals but my field guide from Stan Tekiela was helpful in verifying them as Minks versus Otters or Weasels. Some of the more distinctive characteristics matching up nearly perfectly with the field guide are; white patch on the chin, short round ears, larger size and darker tail near the tip. Also the description of it's thick, oily, waterproof fur allowing it to swim in near freezing water pretty much convinced me I had the right animal. 
This last picture is of the burrow I saw them coming in an out of. Too bad, their burrows are described as temporary as Minks are always on the move looking for their next meal. A male Mink is also said to maintain a territory of 40 acres -which is 1/5th of the whole Palmer Lake area. Hopefully I will see them again. Be sure to click on the photos for larger images!
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