Just had a thought;I haven't seen a stoat or a weasel for years.
Are they becoming rare,or am I walking about with my eyes shut?
Are they becoming rare,or am I walking about with my eyes shut?
Stoats
- Thread starter BorderReiver
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We get them on our farm in North Oxfordshire, unfortunately they are usually dead! The farm cat gets them.BorderReiver said:
Do you guys have a lot of rabbits? Our (NW Norfolk) bunny population seems to have crashed.I wondered if there was a connection.
wolf
Settler
they are around,i think that these days we naturally assume a fox or a cat has had a kill,but there are signs of them around...
I saw a stoat during the spring of last year whilst checking my trap line.
I was moving a quietly as possible over the bank which runs parallel to the line so I could observe the rabbits before they saw me an ascertain which runs they were using. as I summated the steep embankment I spotted the stoat directly below me at the same moment that he spotted me.
he pulled that expression of amazement which owners of ferrets/polecats will be familiar with, which clearly conveyed the message "where the hell did you come form?" before darting off in a random direction. I say random as he clearly had no idea where he was going, because as quickly as he set off he came to an abrupt halt did an almost 360 degree loop and then flew off down the nearest rabbit run.
Its the first time I have seen a live stoat in the wild and the red/white colours of his coat were even more striking than I had imagined. Its little encounters with wildlife like that that make being outdoors so enjoyable
I was moving a quietly as possible over the bank which runs parallel to the line so I could observe the rabbits before they saw me an ascertain which runs they were using. as I summated the steep embankment I spotted the stoat directly below me at the same moment that he spotted me.
he pulled that expression of amazement which owners of ferrets/polecats will be familiar with, which clearly conveyed the message "where the hell did you come form?" before darting off in a random direction. I say random as he clearly had no idea where he was going, because as quickly as he set off he came to an abrupt halt did an almost 360 degree loop and then flew off down the nearest rabbit run.
Its the first time I have seen a live stoat in the wild and the red/white colours of his coat were even more striking than I had imagined. Its little encounters with wildlife like that that make being outdoors so enjoyable
Stuart said:
Magic isn't it.
Many years ago my old Labrador bitch and I surprised a stoat.The stoat squared up to the bitch and "chattered" loudly at her.I'm sure if I hadn't called her off quickly the stoat would have had a go
I haven't seen a stoat in years either. There's a weasel comes into the garden occasionally, it runs along fence rails and under sheds like a furry snake; brilliant to watch and I'm chuffed to bits that it exists
Cheers,
Toddy
Cheers,
Toddy
I have to say that I see them infrequently nowadays though that could be because I'm blundering around doing things which are not compatible with quietly stalking stoats.
However, I have been privilaged on two occasions to come accross a stoat stalking and killing a rabbit. On the first occasion, the squealing of the rabbit attracted my attention as it ran through the roots of a hedgerow oak and stopped 30 yards into a field.....the stoat appeared from behind the oak tree, raised itself onto its hind legs to scan the field, then raced onto the rabbit, which squealed in terror as the stoat moved in and gripped the back of its neck. I disturbed it as I moved slightly to get a better view and it ran back to the the roots. It then turned to look at me, spitting a muffled curse before disappearing back from whence it came. I moved off, thinking it might return....when it didn't, I went back to examine the rabbit which was dead with a neat incision at the back of the neck......we had rabbit for tea the next night. The second occasion was an abbreviated version of the first when taking my then young son around the edge of the woods.
However, I have been privilaged on two occasions to come accross a stoat stalking and killing a rabbit. On the first occasion, the squealing of the rabbit attracted my attention as it ran through the roots of a hedgerow oak and stopped 30 yards into a field.....the stoat appeared from behind the oak tree, raised itself onto its hind legs to scan the field, then raced onto the rabbit, which squealed in terror as the stoat moved in and gripped the back of its neck. I disturbed it as I moved slightly to get a better view and it ran back to the the roots. It then turned to look at me, spitting a muffled curse before disappearing back from whence it came. I moved off, thinking it might return....when it didn't, I went back to examine the rabbit which was dead with a neat incision at the back of the neck......we had rabbit for tea the next night. The second occasion was an abbreviated version of the first when taking my then young son around the edge of the woods.
Greenpete said:We get them on our farm in North Oxfordshire, unfortunately they are usually dead! The farm cat gets them.
Are these the same weasels we have in the US?
We had a cat for about 17 years - originally a feral cat from Turkey - brought back by a US serviceman - that was unusual in that it was quick enough to kill weasels. My father would not believe it until I saved a couple of the weasels for him to see. Usually here, when a cat tangles with a weasel, you end up with a dead cat. Weasels are so quick.
Miss that cat. She sure kept down the mouse population.
PG
Donkeys years ago, whilst out walking a local farmtrack, my missus came across something like yon beast, but we aint sure what it was.
Thing is, it just stayed put, gave us the "stare" and kept on giving us the stare as if trying to hypnotise us, or something.
It didnt move at all , just brazened up , indignant-like, and tried pointing us down.
Had it succeeded, then presumably it wouldve whistled up all his mates, to carry us both off for supper.
I recall ,we detoured right out of the way.
I aint seen suchlike since, but would love to know just what it was and why it behaved as if seven feet tall.
Ceeg
Thing is, it just stayed put, gave us the "stare" and kept on giving us the stare as if trying to hypnotise us, or something.
It didnt move at all , just brazened up , indignant-like, and tried pointing us down.
Had it succeeded, then presumably it wouldve whistled up all his mates, to carry us both off for supper.
I recall ,we detoured right out of the way.
I aint seen suchlike since, but would love to know just what it was and why it behaved as if seven feet tall.
Ceeg
Probably a stoat,the little sods are scared of nowt.Last year I came across three young stoats playing/fighting. They were rolling about and jumping on each other so intently that they didn't notice me for a good few minutes. It was brilliant!!
I had the good fortune of having one of these little chaps as a shooting partner a couple of weeks before Christmas, I was laid up waiting to snipe a few rabbits at one of the larger warrens on one of my shoots, when the little fellow popped his head up just outside the nearest hole had a good look round and sniff of the breeze and then disappeared down into the warren, Forty minutes later Im better of by five rabbits, working with nature at its best.
Trev
Trev
i've only ever seen one. It was on the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland.
I sat for over an hour watching it hunting through the stone walls. I was so mesmerized by the little guy, that I forgot to take my camera out of my rucksack !
the colour of it's coat looked stunning against the limestone.
I had totally forgotten about this until I saw the thread. I spent two weeks that October, wildcamping on the islands. I've just spent the last twenty minutes sitting at my desk reminiscing about it !
nice one
I sat for over an hour watching it hunting through the stone walls. I was so mesmerized by the little guy, that I forgot to take my camera out of my rucksack !
the colour of it's coat looked stunning against the limestone.
I had totally forgotten about this until I saw the thread. I spent two weeks that October, wildcamping on the islands. I've just spent the last twenty minutes sitting at my desk reminiscing about it !
nice one
BorderReiver said:
I saw a weasel on our patio just this morning, while I was making a cup of coffee and watching the birds on the feeders through the kitchen window. I noticed just a small movement on the periphery of my vision. I watched it looking at something for a few seconds. Then it dashed out of view and back again for a second before disappearing into the bushes. It was probably about 10 or 12 feet away from me.
One summer's day a couple of years ago, I was looking at a pile of discarded telegraph poles on the edge of our field. A stoat popped his head up right where I was looking and looked back at me for a few seconds. It didn't seem unduly concerned by my presence: though I was standing perfectly still just a few feet from it. I watched him popping up and disappearing back behind the poles several times over maybe half-a-minute.
You sometimes get lucky like that. Several Februaries ago I was salmon fishing on the Aberdeenshire Dee. An otter stuck his head up out of the river right in front of me and in the exact spot I was looking at. I had no prior indication that the animal was there. It stared at me for a split second, then dived and I didn't see it again. It was so close I could have touched it with my rod.
That same trip, I watched an ermine quartering the steep bank on the far side of the river, hunting for rabbits. I could see it (and the rabbits) on and off for the best part of 20 minutes while I fished down the pool. Its white coat made it clearly visible against the heather and dead bracken, for there was no snow on the ground.
Burnt Ash
Thanks for the reports.Good to know the population is still healthy away from my immediate locality.
A while back I saw a stoat playing in the shallows of a river on a summer morning, it just looked like it was just messing about for the fun of it.
I had a bit of a moment with a Stoat last summer out on the bike. I was barreling down a country lane I knew well, cranked over round a long corner as a Stoat shot out of the bushes across the road, I managed to twitch my line off and miss the little bugger by just a few inches. The odd thing is I'm not sure what I was trying to avoid, coming off the bike (which is what would have happened had I hit it) or simply not hitting the Stoat which was in stunning condition as I watched it in that wierd time freeze that occurs at moments like that
