Muskrat in early morning light

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Muskrat in early morning light

March 26, 2018 by Mike Powell

All wild creatures seem especially beautiful in the early morning light, like this cute little muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) that I spotted last week in one of the small ponds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, early morning light, muskrat, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Ondatra zibethicus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 14 Comments

14 Responses

on March 26, 2018 at 8:55 am | Reply Ellen

Benjamin is delighted with the Muskrat photo : “He’s so cute!” He is trying to figure out “what is the orange thing in the water that he is swimming to?” This is a wonderful capture of the muskrat and the pond water around him. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
- on March 26, 2018 at 1:01 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. If he can figure out what the orange this is, please have him tell me. At first I thought it was a soda can, but then I decided that it wasn’t.
on March 26, 2018 at 8:59 am | Reply DC Gilbert

Nice shot. I have never seen a Muskrat in the wild.
- on March 26, 2018 at 1:03 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  They are pretty cool to see. They hang out in the same kind of habitats as beavers. In fact, they look a bit alike, except the beavers are much, much bigger and have flat tails. Muskrats have rounded “rat tails.”
on March 26, 2018 at 9:01 am | Reply Dan Antion

I love the rings in the water. It looks like he just popped up.
- on March 26, 2018 at 1:05 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Dan. The muskrat was already above the water when I spotted it and created the ripples with a subtle tilt of the head–it had been looking straight ahead.
  - on March 26, 2018 at 1:07 pm Dan Antion
    
    It’s a beautiful shot.
on March 26, 2018 at 4:40 pm | Reply the little muskrat – FLITTERMOUSE

[…] via Muskrat in early morning light — Mike Powell […]
on March 26, 2018 at 5:02 pm | Reply djtaitmsncom

Thank you for sharing your work with us. I see that you got the notice from WordPress. I wondered how that worked. I wish that I had your talent. Donna at Flittermouse.blog and Coffee With the Cat Lady…. I hope you don’t mind if I share more!!
- on March 26, 2018 at 10:14 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for your kind words. You are welcome to share my posts and photos, though I would ask that you link the mention back to me. I really don’t think that I have any special talent, but I am pretty patient and persistent and like to spend a lot of time outdoors with my camera. I am always amazed by what I am able to see and to photograph.
on March 26, 2018 at 6:37 pm | Reply joyroses13

Aww! Great pics don’t see them very often.
- on March 27, 2018 at 6:43 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I don’t see them all that often myself, though the places I visit most often have quite a few muskrats, I think. A lot of the times that I do see them, they sense me first and dive underwater or swim away immediately. In this case I was able to observe the muskrat for a pretty good amount of time.
on March 27, 2018 at 8:56 am | Reply Ellen Jennings

Nice catch! Wonderful image with the reflection, water color and ripples. My first thought on the red thing was a shotgun shell.
- on March 27, 2018 at 11:34 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Yikes. I think you might be right about the shotgun shell. There was deer hunting in the wildlife refuge earlier this year and duck hunting just off shore and shotgun shells could have come from potentially either source.