Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report - March 10, 2023
VLT, MCHT, and U!
Thanks for your supportive reading,
And the supportive viewing of photos
–
Thanks for being here and thanks to
you for being you.
‘Snow cone’ - ‘Big’ Al Jones
Highlights – Otter edition part 2
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Business - Contact us – So you want us to beg for you to
send in photos, sightings, reports, questions, concerns (feel free to keep some
of these to yourself), and comments to the VSR? Whatever it takes! I can beg or
I can dare you to send in your stuff – like the guy with the batteries on his
shoulder – Robert Conrad, right? I dare you to send in stuff to the VSR! Here’s
where - vinalhavensightings@gmail.com
Tiit Trick –
click the photos and they get big. The only way to examine estrus photos is full screen – you are going to want to click!
Sightings – John Drury was kind enough to send in
this photo after ‘Otter edition part 1’ was posted yesterday (or days back at
this point, maybe). It’s of an otter belly bound trail where the otter slows
down to a walk and redirects itself from the direction it was heading by about
90 degrees – making a backwards ‘L’.
Through the magic of computer technology we are able to spin the photo on it
vertical axis and now it’s has a classic
‘L’ appearance. ‘L’ in the biblical sense of course. Not sure what that
means.
the letter 'L'
photo by John Drury
Anyway – since we are talking about
animals making letters in their sign – are they trying to send us a message? –
this is the official VSR call for photos
of alphabet letters in animal sign. Here’s another example –
letter ‘A’ in otter spraint.
spraint is totally tubular! at first at least
Spraintly things – let’s start here - so over the
years several to a dozen of you-alls have let me know you were ‘surprised’
(amongst other words) to find out I did
not make up the word ‘Spraint’. I’ve been surprised at the surprisedness
that people have shown here – like I’m creative enough to come up with a word
like that! Here’s an official definition from Dictionary.com – enjoy
but it breaks apart quickly
exposing all the treasures within
Spraint
- / (spreɪnt) / noun. (often plural) a piece of otter's dung.
I love that it is ‘often plural’. I don’t know if I have
ever just a single piece of spraint.
Did you know that in the language
they speak in England there are at least
15 words for ‘dung’ (including ‘dung’) but that Spraint is the least offensive of them all (my judgment but
definitely true)? It’s the perfect word for those looking to clean up their language a little and there are plenty of
opportunities to use the term to keep the colorful banter going without going
too far. Here are a few examples of phrases you might want to use at parties,
at the water cooler, or on the boat – ‘There
was a spraint-load of guillemots near the ferry today’, ‘Spraint for brains’, ‘Take a shower, you smell like spraint’,
‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a Spraint’
, ‘don’t be such a Spraint-head’, ‘We G.A.S. - Give A Spraint’,
and the classic ‘this spraint is cold’.
like eel skeletons and fish scales
bucket of webs
so innocent, so about to die
Lane’s Island
(3/3) – While we’re talking about
Spraint – it’s out there and ready to be found and analyzed (maybe ‘thoroughly examined’ would be better wording
here). So like I’ve mentioned too many times already, I was on Lane’s Island last Friday (3/3) removing Brown Tailed Moth webs from along the trails
(‘you’re welcome’ to your non-rashy skin this summer). Towards the end of the
day I headed to the water to do the traditional ‘web dump slaughter’, always the perfect way to end a day of
clipping. Webs and salt water don’t mix, and the massacres are silent.
bucket, lopper, sun, ocean
Anyway, I was by the most southerly
spot on the outer loop trail, looking out at Matinicus and decided it looked
like as fine as any place to dump (not in the spraintly way, of course). I did the deed (the web dump) and I was on
my way back to the trail – and back to the ferry - when I came across a ‘spraint on the rocks’. That’s right –
an otter apparently thought it was a nice place to dump at as well!
the letter 'C'
lane's 3/3/23
Then I spotted another and another.
Wasn’t an overwhelming amount of them, but they also were on rocks low enough to
be wiped clean during any raging winter storm. There had undoubtedly/most
likely been many there before. Either way it was in a new location for me - a ‘Latrine at the point!’ as they say.
the latrine is right by this rock
not a bad view for a dump
Being the end of my day, I was gunna
have to boogie to make the ferry – and since I had to leave a few minutes for any
afternoon interactions I might walk myself into while cruising through town –
so I didn’t take too close of a look. Fish
bones and scales, and there were
a few crab exoskeleton spraints. I’ll give more time another time.
…so I left the preserve and while
walking on the road I remembered that back in 06 or 07 there was an otter trail that followed the little ditch/waterway
in the lane’s island marsh. It leads
to the culvert (I think there is a culvert there!) right by the harbor. I looked
to my right and – BLAM-O! – there was
a fresh otter trail right where it had been and right where it was supposed to be!
you can see the road from here
Same trail as 17 years ago - amazing.
Especially when you realize River Otters only live ‘up to 12 years’ in the wild, and really ‘most don’t live to 9 years’. Begs for a question to be asked - how
many generations of otters have used this path? That’s a nice thing about
otters – they are such creatures of
habit that once you learn something about your local otters – be it
latrines, dens or trails – you may be ‘set
for life’! I mean – as long as otters still thrive on Vinalhaven these same
areas will most likely be used and years of entertainment are within your
grasp. Now that is getting to know your neighbors!
Anyway – so the otter had crossed the
road – I have never seen an otter trail
on Vinalhaven where an otter (or otters) went through a culvert – and then dipped
down onto the ice in the ditch that runs along the marsh. Needless to say - those
minutes I had stashed away for socialness were sacrificed immediately. Imagine
if there was enough time in the day to talk with people and track otters? In a
perfect world I guess.
Why did the otter cross the road? To
get to the other side…of lanes -.Years ago when I had time to
follow the trail through the marsh (did I even have a job back then? #nevergofulltime)
I had hoped the trail would take me to a den – cuz we know it’s
always a good time to find a den. But it didn’t, which is fine too. What
the otter did was follow ditch along the edge of the marsh and into the ‘main
open section’ of the Marsh. It then crossed Bickford Road/Lane and went into
the old lobster pound. That Otter may have had a den in the lobster pound, sure,
but I didn’t see nothin’ like that. With that in mind I presently determined
that I would inspect this section of trail (and use up my minutes) and then
catch the ferry. Following the entire trail was tempting but not an option.
Things had to be lickity-split like.
So I was pumped – as anyone would be.
Like mentioned in part 1, the slushy conditions of the ditch thing must not
have met this otters’ travel standards,
because shortly after it leapt onto the ditch ice it leapt back out and into
deep snow. And like that it went from slush to working the belly bound. Things
can change quickly out there.
back to the ditch
The belly bounding section eventually returned to the ditch at a
section that was not in the direct sunlight so much, and must have met the established high travel standards this
Otter demands. Of it got tired of
bounding in snow. ‘Too Tired To
Bound’. Anyway – the otter continued on and ducked under some conifer
boughs and that’s where I left it. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
belly bounds by the 'gang of four'
old harbor pond - circa 2014?
Belly bounding is a way of life. The feedback from the otter edition part 1 has been
wonderful and I appreciate it. Nice to know people out there are enjoying,
thank you. Anyway enough of that.
belly bounds mixed with belly slides
gang of four + one - OHP Circa 2013?
More than one reader mentioned that, at times, they personally adopt a belly-bound travel pattern (we’ve all been there). Some hadn’t actually tried the belly bound yet, but were looking for new kicks and were thinking this style of movement might just be what the doctor ordered. And that is wonderful – tap into your inner weasel…..and bound….
(3/3) Ferry rides – After John sent me the
photos from Greens Island (see previous VSR) on Wednesday I was
psyched to do some otter tracking from the Friday ferry. I would be looking
along shorelines for otter trails in snow. South facing shorelines were pretty
much melted so it was a south facing day for me – and by that I mean the north
facing shorelines still had snow. And so that is what I looked at and for me to
see this I had to look south from the boat so it was a south facing day for me.
Nailed it!
Which worked out good with the wind – and good
with the birds (that’ll be in the next of the marathon VSR posts) – and so
I was out of the chilly wind with the sun was beating down. No reason to get
cold on the way out if you are going to be outside in the snow clipping BTM
webs. No – topside south was refreshingly
cozy for being outside on the ferry the first week of March.
no moose, but there is an old belly slide in there
Passing the Owl’s Head shoreline brought back memories of the Moose that spent
one winter in and around the Lighthouse State Park there. One day that winter
after it had snowed the Moose was standing right about at the high tide line,
possibly looking to eat rockweed. That day from the ferry the Moose was quite
obvious – it’s shape being a silhouette in front of the fresh snow on the
shore. Then I thought to myself – why
haven’t you ever scanned the shores of Owl’s Head for otter slides before?
When will I ever learn.
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| these are not otters |
It took about a second or two before
I spotted an otter slide that
crossed a snow covered Owl’s Head beach to the ocean, right about where that Moose
had once stood proud (or confused). The boat ride was off to a good start… (otter sign from the ferry #1)
sign of otter action at Lawry's or whatever
Lairey’s/Lawrey’s Island is located south of the ferry route and right across from
Leadbetters Island. That’s all nice, but it also happens to be the most classic spot to track Otters from
the ferry (in my weaselly opinion).
There is an Otter den on Lawry’s along
the closest stretch of shore to the ferry
route and it has been active for at least 15 years. And I say ‘at least’
since that’s about as long as I have known about it – undoubtedly was used for
years before that.
Anyway – it’s a spot I check from the
ferry whenever there is snow (and even when there is not) and sure enough there
was sign that looked of multiple otter passes (the snow had been there for
days, remember). (otter sign from the
ferry #2).
imposter. crack slide
I scanned stretches of Greens Island shoreline where I had
seen belly slides in years past. No dice today – I guess they were all over at
John’s. What I did see was this imposter
slide! A close(ish) look reveals that what
looks like an otter slide or two is actually
from a pair of cracks in the rock. So that’s the camouflage thing with
slides – they blend in with snow on
cracks in rocks in the wild. The lesson here is that there are otter slides and there are crack slides .What a world. ‘Won’t get fooled again!’.
As the ferry entered the Reach, we
were passing cute, little Talbots Island
and there were a pair of Otter slides clear
as day – no binoculars needed! Two
slides through the snow (not cracks! I
should have never told you!) and into the water. New spot for me to see,
certainly they have been there for years. Let the learning continue! (otter sign from the ferry #3)
talbot slides
I scanned a few more historic spots
as the ferry meandered through the Reach and no sign was to be seen. And that’s
the way it goes.
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| potato island otter sign they crossed a crack slide! |
But it wasn’t over! There is an even littler island in the harbor, right behind Potato island (and behind the
ferry when docked) with a couple of trees that often have Bald Eagles in them.
On this day there were no eagles but there was an otter trail in the snow that
came from underneath one of said trees mentioned in the previous sentence!
Pictures turned up out of focus for some reason – couldn’t be the photographer
– but the sign was there regardless, no doubt – (otter sign from the ferry #5).
I’m not going to say that was a
record, because there really shouldn’t ever be a ‘record’ for otter sign from
the ferry. But I am pretty sure it’s the
most otter sign I have seen from the ferry on a Friday (Personal Ferry Friday
Best!). Add on the otter belly bound at Lane’s and you can see why the day
was an otter day above anything
else. Otters are active around island! See what you can see!
Estrus talk, we are all adults here – So what’s up
with Otters? Or better yet - What’s up with Mustelids? Well – it’s March
and they have their own kind of madness – I have a new Nature Bummin’ post coming out that explains this a little – it’s
being edited (how dare they!) so its legible and readable (makes sense) – and
it’s called ‘March Madness Means
Mustelid Mating in Mid-coast Maine’. Lot of M’s there. This would include Otter
and Mink on Vinalhaven. Anyway – back to Otters.
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| estrus in da latrine |
Here’s the address … if you dare - https://www.mcht.org/story-tag/nature-bummin/ - may not be posted until next week
dollop of estrus
Here’s the gist of the situation -
Sometime towards the end of
Feb/beginning of March pregnant
female Otters in mid-coast Maine
give birth to a bunch of youngsters called Kits.
They are born in a den and the den is in the ground and if you see the little kitlins in March then something
went wrong. They stay put for a while. The mother stays and nurses and cozies
up with the youngsters, and then after a week (or so) she will go into ‘Heat’ (good/decent movie), which is also
known as ‘Estrus’. For 6 days (or so) she will be receptive to
mating with male otters. That’s it –
that’s the window for otter fortification action. Sounds like ‘6 days of bliss’ you may chuckle to
yourself (you are so bad). If you
chuckled that then clearly you have not watched otters mate. Hard to see much
enjoyment there, much less the slightest sign of ‘bliss’ - but that is for
another post.
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| estrus art - extreme close up! |
Anyway, with such a small window for
mating a female otter has to get the
word out and thusly she marks ‘like
crazy’ (might not be the right description) so local males and maybe even
males ‘passing through’ will know.
And where does she do such marking? At latrines of course!
Estrus marking can be and is done
with the use of scent glands and urine
– sign of both happen to be hard to see in snow. (I wish there was a fancy English term for otter urine. How about
‘Uraint’? That also happens to have been
my nickname in high school…). However, the bodily
fluid associated with estrus that
is ‘easiest’ to find (in my
experience) is blood. There, I said
it. It’s time to look for blood.
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not sure what this is
but it was next to the blood
so estrus marking
Estrus Is the Reason For The Season -
So I have not found anything specific
about the blood female mustelids use to announced they are ‘estrusized’. Things like where it comes
from, how much, how often – it only seems to be
mentioned in passing where I have seen it even mentioned at all. Heck, I haven’t even seen any other photos on bloody
estrus anywhere – but in my Google search history I now have ‘bloody estrus’, ‘bloody estrus photos’, and ‘mustelid
bloody estrus photos’. Apparently I had already searched ‘river otter bloody estrus photos’ at
some point in history. In all honesty my searching was done with little more
than the minimal google effort which often is (and really should be) always enough!
(3/5) Clark Island Preserve (mainland). That all said, I did find some bloody otter estrus at the Clark
Island Preserve in Spruce Head (?) Sunday. Okay, so I don’t know what town
I am in when I am at Clark – which is typical for me when in any woods anywhere
on the mainland – but that’s not the point. Finding the Estrus at one of my favorite latrines on Clark is
like a dream come true, and is the reason for the season. Here’s a picture or
two of what I saw. Too bad photos on the internet aren’t scratch and sniff, am
I right?
So this is the heads up – the
somewhat time sensitive stuff I
mentioned way back at the beginning of part 1 the other day. March is the time
to look for bloody estrus when walking through the woods. Snow is essential,
capturing and cooling the blood for all to see. I imagine the blood changes to
a brownish color as it is exposed to the elements. So look for red and brown
spots at your favorite otter latrines.
But Kirk, you said female otters only have a 6 day window and you found
this on Sunday, so the window is up right? Well, you are right – day 6 for this
otter would be today (Friday) if Sunday was the first day of her window or
earlier in the week if she started earlier of course – like last Saturday for
example. Well, that’s fine and well for this Otter, but as we know nature tends
not to be super structured or static (there is no such thing as ‘balance’!) and
there certainly can be/are differences in timing between individuals within a
species and between years even. Here’s a photo of a huge bloody estrus mark – was about 6x6ft in snow overall - Leif and I are checking out in St George
back in 2018. March 17th to
be exact. 12 days after the 5th, which was Sunday. It’s always a good time to look for bloody
estrus….in March.
Me, Leif, & bloody otter estrus
march 2018
So maybe it’s over for the Clark
Island female but it might just be starting for others and maybe for some it hasn’t
even started yet! Maybe the Clark Island female is just a go-getter and got
ahead of the game. Or maybe she didn’t give birth this year – some females skip
years – and they apparently can have multiple 6-day estrus stretches within the
season. Who knows? I don’t.
Different kind of blood – Usually when I find blood in the woods it’s connected to a
kill or a wound or a scrape or a battle. There can be blood associated with
births, but I have never found that. This otter blood I found was not
discharged as a result of an egg not being fertilized. No – this blood was discharged
in hopes (okay - with the purpose) of leading to an egg
or two (or 3) getting fertilized. And that is a cool use of blood.
mink estrus
lanes island 2015
I mentioned above, and I know this is not from an Otter – but March is also the month when
Mink mate, and dem mink being mustelids go through estrus and mark
accordingly. I have seen bloody Mink
estrus twice – 2005 and 2015 –
both times on Lane’s Island, both in March. The first time was little drops of blood interspersed with
an amazingly hefty amount of mink tracks, trails, and rolls. Basically the
field and the shrubbiness up through the southernmost hill – that entire area –
was mink tracks and disturbances. ‘Rolling
and tumbling’ (some courting &) mating had happened overnight (where
kids play and grandparents picnic no less!) and it was clear that they shagged like minx. I have not pictures
of this and I am no sure why I don’t. I think my camera may had broken or
something.
The second time (2015) was also in
March, but this was more of a ‘hot
bloody mess’ rather than a few drips. As the story goes - a female Mink was bounding through the preserve
and she marked as she bounded. Take a look at these photos – good long, strong bounds saying she was
not carrying anything in her mouth (those bounds look like a struggle) – and then
mid-bound ‘splooshes’ were heard. 
estrus 2015
hellbender carving in NC- not an otter
So March is the time to look for bloody Mink estrus as well – as if the month couldn’t get any cooler!
It’s an exciting time out there - And that’s what it’s all about. Keep your eyes open for blood in snow (‘snow cone’ – ‘Big’ Al Jones) for the
next few weeks. And if you find any blood take some photos and send them in to
us here at the VSR – I am begging you and daring you! Be the first to send in
mustelid estrus photos!
no better way to celebrate
'women who rock' than
eating berry pebbles
Non-otter editions coming up shortly. with more limited edtitions
Thanks for making it to the end. You
deserve something. Not sure what
