“If you spend enough time outside in a high-quality natural area, you will inevitably see lots of cool things” is advice I frequently give, and it was proven this year with observations made on Minnie’s Island.
It started in late April, when I noticed an unusual animal running along the shoreline while I was sitting on one of the benches on the island. My mind first read “squirrel,” but then I realized it was larger, dark brown, and with a longer tail. I then noticed a strong musky odor in the area. I immediately googled images of mink, and that is exactly what I saw. This was the first time I had seen a mink in the area. Then in early July, I was walking a trail by the rock outcrops and heard a loud splash. Investigating, I saw a small weasel biting into an eight-inch smallmouth bass. I then watched it eat the fish while under a rock. I was able to capture some brief video of this, and was able to determine the animal was about 16 inches long, which would make it much smaller than an otter and most likely a mink.
My next cool sighting was over the first week of July. Over the last several years, it was not unusual to occasionally hear and see peregrine falcons, as they nest about a mile upstream on the American Legion Bridge. This year, I observed two adult and two juvenile falcons every day for about a week. The adults had selected some dead tree snags at the bottom of the island as home base for teaching their young to fly and hunt. During this time, the juvenile birds would constantly cry out what must have been “feed me” in peregrine language. One day, I watched one of the adults perch with a large prey bird in its talons, responding to the juveniles with “no, you come here and get it.” (Note that I am OK with anthropomorphizing.) During this week-long period, you would have been able to hear and see the falcons from the C&O Canal by the bottom of Minnie’s. I have not seen or heard the falcons since mid-July.
The final sighting was on July 10, when I noticed two large otters right beside the canoe landing on the island. We had previously seen tracks, but this was the first sighting. The river was relatively high and I expect they were hunting fish in the pools that flow through the rock outcrops at the head of the island. I had another otter sighting in early August in the channel between Minnie’s and the canal. This was clearly a younger, smaller otter that appeared to be hunting for mollusks or crayfish. This was unmistakingly an otter, with its heavy, muscular tail. I was able to capture some good video of the otter, which I again saw later that day in the pool at the canoe landing on the island. Seeing both adults and juveniles makes me wonder if there is a den in the area.
I’m not sure why there have been so many interesting observations this year. Maybe it’s because the island has been closed to the public for the last six months, or perhaps because I have been spending more time working on the island. As most readers already know, Minnie’s Island has reopened to the public and I encourage folks to visit. Details on how to get there are posted on our website at www.minniesisland.org. Some photos from the sightings are posted in the gallery on our website, and videos can be found on our Facebook page.
By Joe Saliunas, certified Maryland Master Naturalist, Board Chair of Minnie’s Island Community Conservancy
Contributing Writer