Two Raccoons & A Screech Owl - A Tale in Three Acts: Act 1, Part II
That “Thing” in the Tree
A few years back during one of my autumn scouting trips to the Eastern Shore, I spent a morning hiking along Hammock Road at the Saxis Wildlife Management Area. The balmy temperatures combined with a sky overcast with curtains of gray clouds created the perfect recipe for photographing marsh landscapes: no harsh shadows or blown out highlights to deal with.
The goal for the morning was to use a wide-angle lens to photograph compositions of the vast marsh landscape. But that would change near the end of my hike. A combination of luck, patience, observation, and understanding all playing a role in making this morning something special.
I drove to the boat landing at the end of the road, parked, and as with all my previous mornings here, I was welcomed by a convention of double-crested cormorants and various species of gulls and terns resting on a row of pilings just offshore. Good start to this morning, I thought. It would get even better later on.
I began hiking to the road entrance about a mile away. After a few hours of photographing, soaking in the scenery, and savoring the sights and sounds of the marsh life surrounding me, I started strolling back to the boat landing. Lunchtime was minutes away and my stomach was notifying me that I was ready for some leisurely dining and after that, an afternoon nap.
Always observant in these situations, I noticed something hanging in a distant tree near the landing. Still too far to figure it out, but I remained curious as to what it might be. A plastic bag waving in the wind, maybe? Not sure, but I kept a visual lock on the location as I made my way to the landing.
The closer I got the clearer it became it wasn’t a plastic bag but some critter hanging onto the branches of a hackberry tree. The tree was just off to the side where my vehicle was parked. I slowed my pace even more so not to scare the mystery creature.
I finally saw that it was a young raccoon voraciously devouring berries from the hackberry tree. The masked bandit paid no mind to me as it kept collecting the purple drupes and stuffing them into its mouth. And the little creature was hanging upside down, too. A photo opportunity, maybe? I decided to give it a go.
I walked silently and slowly to my vehicle, quietly opened the door, grabbed a 200-500mm lens, and attached it to my camera.
Starting from my vehicle, I began taking a few photographs, then walking a few steps more before photographing again. I kept doing this until eventually I was at a point where I could get decent looks at the raccoon without disturbing it.
After several minutes photographing the raccoon, it finally stopped eating and while still hanging upside down, took a gander at me. A minute later, the raccoon decided it had enough of my snooping – can’t a raccoon consume hackberries in peace without the nature paparazzi? It righted itself up, went behind a branch, pressed its head against the branch and closed its eyes as if with its eyes closed, I could not see it.
I couldn’t help but chuckle about this. The little creature just wouldn’t move, and it continued to keep its eyes closed. I didn’t want to disrupt its lunch anymore, so I returned to my vehicle and drove away.
As I neared the road’s entrance, I worried about the raccoon, hoping it would finally open its eyes and see that all was right with the world and would begin feeding again. I turned around and drove back to the tree just to check.
Lo and behold, the raccoon returned to eating hackberries as if no human had ever disturbed its life. It took a final glance at me as I turned around and drove away, and a big smile crossed my face knowing that I was privileged to yet another special moment in nature.
This would not be the last time a raccoon in a tree would surprise me. Stay tuned for Act II to learn more about raccoon number two.
Sidebar: The Hackberry Tree
A native tree species occurring throughout the United States, the hackberry trees on the Eastern Shore of Virginia grow close to the edges of salt marshes. Similar in appearance to the elm, older hackberry trees have trunks with distinctive corky and knobby warts.
The tree’s fruits – called drupes—are important wildlife foods for many wildlife species including cedar waxwings, mockingbirds, and robins as well as raccoons, opossums, and gray fox. While the fruit ripens by September, it can remain on the tree through the winter, providing an important food source for wildlife.
Raccoon in Hackberry Tree - Saxis Wildlife Management Area, VA (c) Jim Clark
Raccoon in Hackberry Tree on Hammock Road at the Saxis Wildlife Management Area, VA (c) Jim Clark
Raccoon closing its eyes so maybe I wouldn’t see it! Saxis Wildlife Management Area, VA (c) Jim Clark
A final glance by the raccoon in the hackberry tree - Saxis Wildlife Management Area, VA (c) Jim Clark
Hammock Road - Saxis Wildlife Management Area, VA (c) Jim Clark
Autumn Sunset over the Marsh - Saxis Wildlife Management Area, VA (c) Jim Clark