I had a brief but interesting encounter with a Long-tailed Weasel yesterday morning at Farmington Bay. The little mustelid ran across the road in front of my pickup and buried itself in the brush and rocks but on the long shot that it would reappear I stopped anyway. And reappear it did, right under my nose.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited or set up
At first it was in the shade of my pickup but eventually I got off a few shots as it leaned against a rock in the sun and checked me out. It was too close for my 500mm plus teleconverter and I didn’t have time to remove my tc. In the excitement I didn’t even think to grab my other camera with the attached 100-400mm zoom lens attached. I blame that on buck fever…
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited or set up
It gave me one more slightly different pose and then it was gone.
1/500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited or set up
But I thought this earlier look at the weasel was interesting too, despite the fact that it was still in the shade of my pickup. I enjoy the intimacy of this shot with the direct stare from those bulging eyes and the good look at the very long and sensitive “whiskers”.
An extreme crop of the same image reveals three things I thought were interesting:
- How extremely narrow my depth of field was with the weasel this close at 700mm (500mm x 1,4 tc). Only an ellipse-shaped area around the eyes is sharp – sharpness falls off very fast in front of and behind the eyes.
- Based on this image, weasels have a bare patch of skin between the eyes and the nose that I was unaware of. The patch in front of the right eye is largely covered by a matted piece of debris but the “bald” patch in front of the left eye can be easily seen here.
- My pickup is reflected in the inside corner of each eye.
I find weasels to be extremely elusive subjects so even though the images I’ve presented here leave a lot to be desired I was still happy to get them.
Ron
Awesome shots!!
Outstanding photographs! I have seen weasels at Bear River WMA, but not FB. I have never even come close to getting a photo though, excellent work.
Hi!
What beautiful photo’s! I seen some over 70 years ago and loved their little faces even then! Great work! Keep it up!
Your license plates have inspired me to get new ones…only mine will say “HARRIED”…:-)
My new license plates would say the same as yours – because my husband’s name is Harry… Thanks for giving me a good chuckle this morning.
These are wonderful images of the original “Slinky”…
You’re no longer driving your red truck! No wonder I can never find you out there 😉 Glad this little dude found you though. Stellar images.
Mike, I’m on my second truck since the red one. This one is a Silver Ford F150. Look for the HARRIER vanity plates.
What an absolute charmer. Bald is beautiful. And yes, there is definitely a place for the skilled natural killers. Many of whom for some reason are either cute – or incredibly beautiful (think tigers for the latter)…
I take “bald is beautiful” as a two-pronged compliment, Elephant’s Child. Those genes got me early on…
I have never known my partner of over thirty five years with hair. And it matters not a jot.
Like. I have been wanting to get good pictures of them for years!
They’re not easy subjects, Carolyn – that’s for sure.
FANTASTIC SHOTS Ron. Just got home, turned on the computer and checked you out!! Man, what a great and fantastic surprise! I love the shota you took, and the hell with the depth of field. Yeh, I know, but you got the shot and the ones you got are really wonderful. Wouldn’t want to be a mouse or vole in that area. Nice that you got good looks at the front paws, one of the ways you can tell the difference between the Long-tailed and Short-tailed Weasel. Many thanks for stopping for this guy!
“Nice that you got good looks at the front paws, one of the ways you can tell the difference between the Long-tailed and Short-tailed Weasel.”
Dick, If I remember correctly the feet of the long-tailed are not as white as those of the short-tailed. Is that correct? Thanks very much for the kind words regarding these images, despite their shortcomings.
Yes, the Long-tailed Weasel is longer bodied, longer tail and has tan paws rather then white paws. I have an article I’m writing on both the Short-tailed and Long-tailed Weasel for our retirement community here in Vermont and that is what my research shows are the only visible differences between the two.
Interesting to know, Dick – thanks very much.
I have never seen a weasel in person. They are just so cute! They look so sweet and innocent. Thanks Ron for the great close up shots!
You’re very welcome, Debbie. Hope you get to see one some day.
They are such innocent looking animals. Great pictures. I have never seen one before.
“They are such innocent looking animals”.
To coin a phrase, Ellen, looks can be deceiving…
You’ve given me my first really closeup view of this beautiful creature—thanks !
I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, Kris.
Cute killers says it all. I remember when one attacked my cat who at that point lived strictly outdoors, being feral. Only her thick coat saved her, my vet said! And they’re hell on chickens, as my landlord will attest. Nevertheless, it’s a thrill to see them running about on the stone walls here in NH, and a couple of years ago we had a weasel or mink living in our dirt basement! As you said, they kept the rodents in control – very low maintenance! 🙂 Thanks, Ron, for those simply beautiful portraits of them…
They raised havoc with our chickens when I was a kid, Alison – something I’ll never forget.
S/he is really pretty with the shades of gold in the first picture. I find myself charmed by the creature. Im a fan of ferrets so it’s easy to like this creature.
I know what you mean, Arwen. I’m a fan of all of the mustelids, even the most smelly ones.
These pictures show off the weasel’s face wonderfully. This is one beautiful animal, and I’m glad you were able to get so close to it. What struck me when I look at the last two is that it looks like this may be an older weasel? I have no experience of them, but the fur going white around the nose reminds me of what aging cats look like.
Susan, weasels around here are just about to get their pure white winter pelage (except for a black-tipped tail) so perhaps that’s what’s going on.
Great shots Ron. I love the whiskers and the alert / attentive look of the stealthy weasel. My wife has been seeing them regularly around our place, however I have yet to be so lucky. I ran a quick DOF calculation, at 20 feet subject distance (?) the depth of field is ~ 0.5 inch. Regardless, your images are pretty darn good !
Ed, I’d estimate that I was even closer than 20′. I hope you get to see your weasel. They’re sure gutsy little guys.
What sensational shots Ron! Never seen a weasel and had no idea how cute they are.
Charlotte
“Cute” for sure, Charlotte – cute little killers and they’re very good at it. Nothing wrong with that though, they fill their ecological niche very efficiently.