Growing up in the suburbs of Boston, I was never exposed to muskrats and my first impression of them may well have come from the Captain and Tennille version of the song “Muskrat Love.” So every time I see one now, that song comes into my head and I think of Muskrat Susie and Muskrat Sam doing the jitterbug out in muskrat land.
This past Monday I came upon this little muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) at my local marsh as I was trying to get some shots of a Green Heron. I was on the boardwalk, maybe 18 inches (about 45 cm) or so above the level of the land and the muskrat was close enough that I was able to get this shot with my 180mm macro lens. Once it became aware of our presence, the muskrat slipped into the water and swam away, perhaps returning to Muskrat Susie.
One interesting note about “Muskrat Love” is that the Captain and Tennille chose to sing that song at the White House in 1976 at a bicentennial dinner that included Queen Elizabeth as a guest, according to Wikipedia. If you have never heard the song (or if you want to relive memories of your childhood), here’s a link to a YouTube version. In the introduction to the song, Toni Tennille describes an impassive Henry Kissinger during the performance at the White House (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBYV_7a0FQs).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Kissinger listening to Muskrat Love? The Queen, too? What a hoot. Great post this morning – that’s one fat & happy-looking muskrat in your photo. I’m in suburban Boston, myself, and see them occasionally at the lake. While photographing the egret Tuesday, loud clamoring and squealing erupted from the rocks and two muskrats jumped off the rocks into the water, then back onto the rocks and up over the top of the tunnel, down the other side, and along the shore directly behind the egret before dashing off into the underbrush. The egret looked stunned, at full attention, and I was amazed at their loudness and energy. I think it must have been Muskrat Sam in hot pursuit of Muskrat Susie once again. 🙂
Thanks. Most often when I see a muskrat, it is in the water and is swimming away. I was really happy to be able to get a shot of this one on dry land. I enjoy seeing interactions among species, so would have enjoyed seeing the egret’s reaction to the muskrats.
I’ve had the same experience – had never seen them on land before, only just their (usually) blurred heads swimming by. The egret looked soldier-stiff, very very tall posture with neck/chest feathers puffed forward a bit, not a large visible reaction, it was subtle but apparent because of his stiffening.
Hey Mike, do you know the name of the little critter pictured on Dots&Stripes on Pearl St. ?
These animals seem to like you better all the time and allow you to get closer. Nice.
Thanks, Lyle. I am having some amazingly good luck in stumbling upon these animals at close range and actually getting some decent shots. I’d love to personalize it and say they like me (we all like to be liked), but I think it is more luck than like.
I’m not sure what to think about having Muskrat Love stuck in my head thanks to this post.
I’ll take your advice and treat it as a trip down memory lane.
🙂
This shot is interesting to me because it looks like he might be eating tree bark and I’ve never heard of them doing so. I remember that song but I’m not going to listen to it now so it isn’t stuck in my head all day!
I wondered about the bark too. Normally I have seen them chewing on cattail stalks and the like.
I just visited several websites and not one said that muskrats eat tree bark, so this photo might play a part in advancing our understanding of this critter.
I’ll check over the other photos that I took to see if they show the muskrat eating bark–it might be the angle of the shot that causes us to come to the come to the conclusion.
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