A Mink in the Lowcountry

I have been in coastal South Carolina since 1981 and though I have seen Mink numerous times, it is usually the hind feet and tail disappearing into the Spartina Flora or over the top of an oyster bank. In all this time, and with all the trips I've made into the Lowcountry marshes and waterways I have one good image of a Mink (see it and the story behind it among my archived (April 2011) "Photo Columns" on the "Where to Go on HHI" website). Until now! I have two : ) The other day on a photo tour, I took a route I have not taken for close to a year and it payed off. We were on the Port Royal side of Parris Island watching the large numbers of migrating shorebirds resting or feeding along the banks. Suddenly I saw something different. It was small and brown and moving quickly across the top of an oyster bank and then it stopped just as I was reaching for the camera under my seat. He stared at us as we slide toward him, motor off and about to beach the boat in the grass. I shot maybe four frames and it was gone. All I could do was hope one was good enough to keep and luck should have it, it is. True enough what they say - you never know what you'll see when you are out in the salt marches of the Lowcountry and I for one love the mystery of it : )