woodjin said:
Well, he is kind of cute. For a weasel that is. Anyway, tough call. The short tailed weasel tends to gravitate toward grassy open areas or woodlands. The long tailed weasel tends toward wetlands, bodies of water and dense woods. What kind of habitat was it?
Jeff
Now realize, this may simply be indicative of a blind spot, but it was (I thought) an easy call : it's a long-tailed weasle (Mustela frenata). I stated that, albeit, perhaps, too confidently, for two reasons:
1. I had been of the long-held opinion (quite possibly in error) that but one weasle was indigenous to the PBs (the above-mentioned long-tailed weasle), and
2. I'd never even heard of a "short-tailed weasle", so never thought of it. What's its scientific name? Does it designate a species with another name?
Also, In my limited experience with long-tailed weasles, I've seen them in quite a variety of habitats, from dry uplands - forested to open grasslands) as well as lowlands of various degrees of wetness.
Last October I stopped by the roadside near my house to watch a couple of immature red-tails - probably siblings sticking together early in migration - as they flew from one big round hay bale to another in an immense hay field that stretched to the horizon. They were undoubtedly on the lookout for prey revealed in the recently mowed field. All of a sudden, one of them made a bee-line for the bale that was closest - about 30 feet - to my car. A brief perch, and then she hopped down to the ground and began a style of hopping about with her wings held slightly extended at her sides that put me in mind of the performers in "River Dance". Very shortly it became apparent that her partner in the impromptue dance was a frantic long-tailed weasle also leaping about, but his motive was self-preservation, not not terpsichorean. The weasle danced reactively to the hawk's rhythm and when she decided to break rhythm, he was toast.
A fascinating moment that I felt priviledged to have had the opportunity to observe - just as you must feel priviledged to have had the opportunity to take that astounding hand-held shot of a wild weasle! Way to go!
Jeff, fill me in on the short-tailed weasle, would you? And by the bye, Jeff, as I write this, I'm listening to a CD that has quickly become one that is in the CD case that is carried from house to truck and back again - sort of like the President's "football". It's entitled ... let me see ... oh yes: "Leeds Devil Blues" Totally terrific! Your musicality is absolutely astounding.
And Bob, this picture of the weasle made my day!
Dave
