I was photographing loons this morning. But the action got slow and the sun was hot. So I paddled over to a small creek to sit in my kayak in the shade for a bit. I figured the loon would head that way anyway (it did).
I soon saw a mink perhaps 30 yards away upstream. I paddled over to it and nudged my kayak into some rocks, but it was gone. I know they are curious creatures so I pretended it was a bird. I pished and made a few other quiet mouth noises. Soon it appeared, entered the water, and swam over to me.
It climbed the rocks and then started to scramble onto my kayak. I figured this might be a good time to back up. I really didn’t want a mink trapped in my kayak interior with me.
This short adventure lasted 30 seconds — the time between the first and last mink photos here.
Please check back for a post on the first week or two of the life of a loon chick.