Remember, yesterday I talked about that by leaving the camera at home during a kayak tour last Friday I missed the opportunity to shoot an American Mink that I saw along the shore. Well, today I got another chance at a total different location. This evening I went down into the valley in order to continue to work on another bird project (I will report about this later this week). While still just getting ready for shooting and firing the first test shots I suddenly saw an American Mink on the other side of the Little Maquoketa River. The critter moved very fast over logs and through the bushes that grow along the water and I never got a chance to even focus on the mink. Just across from my location it climbed a big cottonwood tree and disappeared in the canopy. A woodpecker flew out of the tree and I got concerned that the mink was after the bird’s eggs or offspring. Nothing happened for about a minute. I didn’t see it anymore. Suddenly the mink climbed down with something in its mouth and disappeared somewhere in the thick bushes above the river bank. Everything happened very fast but I was able to make five clicks. At home I saw that this American Mink had killed a young squirrel, probably right in its nest. Well, this is nature in its purest state and for me it was very exciting to watch.
The photos are not necessarily good wildlife photos but they are important documentary shots for me. It was the first time that I was able to make a photo of the mink and now I have a foundation to built on… :-)