Rendezvous with a Raccoon

Oct. 31 : I went exploring around the marina this evening and saw a large bird that looked like a Great Blue Heron sitting on the rocks below me. I watched him for a while until he turned and saw me, looked me straight in the eye, and flew off making a raucous noise that made his frustration with me all too clear.

I also watched a small bird repeatedly swoop down and gently touch the water with its bill as it flew just a few inches above the water down the length of the basin. When it finally flew back up to the sky, it left a thin trail of disturbed water in its wake. I have no idea what kind of bird it was, but this was fascinating to watch!

As I reached the end of the marina, I noticed a raccoon walking on the docks. There was no one around and it was very quiet, so I watched the raccoon go about its business for about 20 minutes. He (or she, dunno) walked from one end of the dock to the other, at one point even climbing some stairs up onto a boat and thoroughly inspecting it. Down on the dock, he peered over the edge a few times and looked into the water, perhaps looking for fish. A bit later, he picked something up off the ground and cracked it with his teeth. I couldn't see very well so I don't know what it was - perhaps a mussel or clam. Finally, he sauntered up the exit ramp back to the mainland. I stepped away so as not to surprise him when he walked off. The exit had a locked gate, and I assumed that he would squeeze under it. But to my surprise, he climbed up and over a side fence and startled me by walking along a small ledge straight towards me. But before I could move, he slipped under the main fence, noticed me standing nearby, and quickly scampered across the street where he disappeared from view. The space under the fence was slightly larger than the gap under the gate, so perhaps that's why he exited that way.

I have never observed a raccoon for so long or so closely. He was a stunningly beautiful animal, with a nearly perfect bandit facial mask and ringed tail. His ears were slightly rounded, and his body shape was noticably different from that of a cat - less length but wider and more round. What I will remember most, however, is that he had a presence about him that conveyed both a dignity and an intelligence that epitomizes wild animals. His actions were so deliberate, so purposeful. No doubt he had done all of this before. I felt privileged to have had a brief window into his life.