Stoat or Weasel

htid

htid

Messages
2,497
Name
Chris
Edit My Images
Yes
I was at Dawlish Warren nature reserve waiting for whitethroats when this little guy/girl popped up. I know you can ID them from the tail but I didn't see it, so I'm not sure what it is. Just managed to get a grab shot as it popped its head up before it scuttled off into the undergrowth. Never seen one before, didn't realise how small they are!

Stoat or Weasel by Chris Cotton, on Flickr
 
Lovely grab shot Chris. :)
 
If you can't I.d. from its tail, the other way is to wait 3 years. If it dies in that time it'll be weasel, most likely.
 
I'd vote Weasel.
I thought the stoats had typically straight line separation from the white to brown, where weasels 'can' be patchy at the join (if that makes sense).... plus it looks quite small.

Lovely shot though (y)
 
Looks like a Stoat to me ,i see it as being quite large ,judging by the grass,i could be wrong as weasels are very small in comparison to the stoat ,if only we could see the tail.
 
I asked my girlfriend and she saw it and remembers it had no black tip and it was about 30cm in length so I think weasel after all.
 
Chris,both can be called,you need to make a sound like a mouse squeak,maybe google might help,have a dig. these chances are rare for most of us,but when they occur its nice having a potential option to get them closer

The secret to this ID is surely in the height of that grass sword,it's low is it not.... grazed there are cut leaves in there?? You were there so already have info ,but IDi ng some of those plants will probably put your mind at rest
I'm for weasel here they are tiny Chris,we used to have them in our front garden. Oh and mate a fine and well executed shot of a subject most of us will just get lucky on. After watching the guy on spring watch one has to say some really make their luck and fair play to him .I wish we still had them,it's all here for them ,but like so much in blightly one doesn't see what was here twenty years back
Cheers for this

Stu
 
Stuart Philpott said:
Chris,both can be called,you need to make a sound like a mouse squeak,maybe google might help,have a dig. these chances are rare for most of us,but when they occur its nice having a potential option to get them closer

The secret to this ID is surely in the height of that grass sword,it's low is it not.... grazed there are cut leaves in there?? You were there so already have info ,but IDi ng some of those plants will probably put your mind at rest
I'm for weasel here they are tiny Chris,we used to have them in our front garden. Oh and mate a fine and well executed shot of a subject most of us will just get lucky on. After watching the guy on spring watch one has to say some really make their luck and fair play to him .I wish we still had them,it's all here for them ,but like so much in blightly one doesn't see what was here twenty years back
Cheers for this

Stu
Click to expand...

Thanks Stu! We've established that it was a weasel. I am indeed very lucky, I didn't have a clue it was going to be there, I was aiming at the whitethroats and heard a rustling in the grass...aimed just in case it was a mouse or something and this one popped up! I was over the moon as I've never seen one before!

Don't see what was here 20 years ago....40 years ago, 60 years ago, 100 years ago....very sad and I'm sure it's only going to get worse :( Every time I hear on the news "we need to build more houses!!" I despair. Wildlife doesn't stand a chance :(
 
Chris I'm part of that new house building and I despair too at the industry the lack of care for the new owners by the big companies ...not actually the trades whom always get the blame.... and the sheer lack of thought for what we are doing to our planet,damn we need to stop breeding so many new humans and thinking that we are the most important beings...... the beasties need a home too

Chris i'll get off me soapbox,i'm not terribly proud of the industry i'm now part of,probably loath is a better word but i'm going to post back something postitive for you . When I moved up here instantly there was a sound that caught my attention as spring progressed,one I'd not heard before down south. It hit a guy like me like a sledge hammer,it was a soft burring and I knew who it had to be,turtle doves,sure enough it was. That sound slowly got less and less and became lost here,maybe ten years back . for me not hearing that each spring has been heart wrenching,it sort of made being here ok,I love the SW and the sea Chris I was born up here but home is down there. This year much to my complete joy that sound is back ahh mate we probably don't agree on some things,you have my complete respect though earnt here a while back,;) So I thought a bit of hope might be a good thing rather than us both getting into despair.. Turtle doves are so special and also facing hard times,but something good must be happening here for me to hear this again,it's soo damn cool mate..Ha get this, a very close mate turned up just a couple of weeks back, with a phone pic only a turt on his bird feeders a regular but non habitual visitor.

But yeah I hear ya mate really do

Oh and cheers for the little guy above I did read all the posts,wish I could nail these shots like you did here,one day mate...one day;)


take care
Stu
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top