Thermal and mink

minktrapper

Have any of ye ever seen a mink through a thermal.

meathstevie

minktrapper wrote: »

Have any of ye ever seen a mink through a thermal.

No but I can well imagine that from a bit of a distance in a thermal scope or monocular/binos they can be easily confused with other protected predators.

minktrapper

That is what I was wondering. But what kind of distance?

Eddie B

I don't think I've ever seen a mink whilst lamping, (just a regular fox lamp), but I have seen several marten whilst lamping fox's.

minktrapper

That is the problem. How many people lamp rivers. No foxes in the river swimming. Or at least I never heard of them swimming. I will try it next winter when the foliage does back. Calling mink on the river. It will be an interesting project. I read on something that mink eat most fish in the winter when they are slow moving in the winter. Would a thermal spot them in the water when they are wet? Would there be enough of a temperature difference?

Sika98k

Yes, I have seen mink. At approximately 140 yds using an XQ38F.

Sika98k

minktrapper wrote: »

That is the problem. How many people lamp rivers. No foxes in the river swimming. Or at least I never heard of them swimming. I will try it next winter when the foliage does back. Calling mink on the river. It will be an interesting project. I read on something that mink eat most fish in the winter when they are slow moving in the winter. Would a thermal spot them in the water when they are wet? Would there be enough of a temperature difference?

You are only going to see what is above the water surface so it may be difficult to discern between an otter and a mink. Yes I’m aware of the difference in body sizes but it’s difficult to judge unknown distances using a thermal monocular. Foxes will swim small streams and rivers. A thermal gives you tremendous insight into what goes on in the countryside at night.

minktrapper

If you could identify something in the water then you could ID it properly with a standard torch.