Sunday, May 30, 2010

Long-tailed weasel, Point Reyes National Seashore

Long-tailed weasel

I’ve come to appreciate the fact that not everyone finds wildlife encounters to be as truly thrilling as I do. After a relatively boring hike out to Abbott’s Lagoon (in terms of photographic opportunities), I was fairly resigned to be out of chances to make an interesting image for the day. However, my ever constant scan for wildlife came up with a huge score when I saw this adorable mustelid standing tall in the pasture along the trail. I was stoked! The long-tailed weasel is an animal that I’ve wanted a chance to see for a while, but I figured that it wasn't likely to ever happen.

Long-tailed weasel

We saw him take a few leaps and chases at something, although he never came up with a snack. It was fun to watch him disappear down one gopher hole and then have to scan the area to see where he would pop up next.

Long-tailed weasel

While the pictures themselves aren’t anything special (harsh midday light and cropped significantly), crossing a new wildlife species off of my list is always fantastic, and I was excited to tell anyone about it when we got back. Alas, the odd looks on the faces of the people I told reassured me that it takes a, umm, *special* kind of person to get so excited about encountering a weasel.

Now that I’ve got that one off the list, here’s to hoping a get a chance at a badger!

5 comments:

  1. Awww he's great !! Those pics are wonderful - I love this little guy with his funny attitude :)

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  2. Hey, there's lots of us special folks out here! ;)

    My wife and I saw a weasel bounding down the trail in Tenn. Valley a month or so ago, and it was a first for us too. We definitely didn't get such a nice view as this though.

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  3. I think they are lovely set of images and I am very envious. Good luck with badgers.

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  4. How lucky for you to see such a special animal! I hope to see one in the wild one day too.

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  5. I know exactly how you feel. I spotted one at Pt Reyes Natnl Seashore yesterday ! Unfortunately, not everyone was as excited as I was about the find :)

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