Jan is up on the hill, I live down on the marsh, so even though we live only a matter of yards away from each other, Jan and I have different life lists. I guess he sees animals more related to the woods, mine are more aquatic.
Everyone here sees geese, they even cause traffic jams on the roads. And deer of course, known locally by their other name: dinner. I can hear the coyotes up near Jan - unless that's Jan singing - but I've never seen one.
I do see foxes during denning and baby time, January-March. They eat water animals and I assume lots of little mice and voles and other crunchy little things. Those of you who migrated here from Mary's blog, Duck Dreams, have heard a lot about the foxes.
Earlier this year I was visited by two river otters, they came very close to the house at high tide. I was expecting river otters to be like ocean otters, small and cute. Instead they were great big things, more like beavers without the flappy tails. They were lithe and graceful and seemed extremely alert. Worried about Jan's wolves and coyotes I bet.......
And I've been visited a number of times by mink. I never seen such animals before I started living on the marsh. Mink look like weasels wearing gorgeous coats, they'd fit right in on Fifth Avenue in NYC. They're very fast and more than a little nasty-looking - no doubt who the predators are.
Finally let me give a shout-out to the main animals around here: the books on salt marshes say that we have something like 600 tiny snails in every square meter of marsh. They're easy to find, even though they're the size of two or three strike-anywhere match heads. The key thing about these non-charismatic creatures is - they make the marsh work. They are the crucial link between the plant communities and the animals that live on the marsh. Sometime in warmer weather I'll try for a shot with my camera. They may not be as flashy as the fleet foxes, but they're important and they do HOLD STILL.
