Farmington is in a sort of wrapped bowl of the Wasatch Mountains which traps clouds – the bane of bird photographers. Much the same thing happens to morning fog, especially during winter. Collectively I call the phenomenon the “Farmington Curse” and that curse, in the form of fog, was much in evidence two mornings ago when I spent some time with a Long-tailed Weasel.
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.
I’ve been aware for years that these owls sometimes take over badger holes but it’s something I’ve never been able to document without question until this week.
Weasels are among the most interesting and challenging subjects I’ve ever photographed. This one, from yesterday morning, fit the bill on both counts.
Yesterday morning we were witness to a tense drama involving a badger and Long-tailed Weasels on Antelope Island. American badgers feed primarily on rodents (ground squirrels, pocket gophers, rats, mice and voles) which they often capture by digging out their burrows – the digging skills of badgers are legendary.
But on this day a close relative was on the menu.
The vast majority of my posts are about birds as they are the primary goal of my photography. But I also love other wildlife, including mammals, and when I run across something interesting during my bird forays I try to photograph them. Such was the case two days ago.
These weasels are occasional cannibals which I’ve documented in two previous posts: “Long-tailed Weasel – Efficient Hunter and Cannibal” and “A Cannibalistic Long-tailed Weasel”.
Long-tailed Weasels are elusive and fascinating critters. Some interesting information about them might include the following: sexually dimorphic, females 10 to 15% smaller than males the name is appropriate as the length of their tail can equal up to 70% of the head and body length eyes are black in daylight but glow a bright, emerald-green in a spotlight at night like other mustelids, have anal scent glands that produce a liquid with a strong, musky odor go through delayed implantation, they mate in July-Aug but implantation (and growth) of fertilized egg into uterine wall is delayed until March but after implantation the embryo develops for only 4 weeks before birth. This timing allows for birth in spring when prey is abundant. are obligate carnivores, prefer prey fresh or alive, seldom eat carrion aggressive and fearless hunters, often killing prey much larger than themselves with a bite to the neck favorite prey includes mice, rats, chipmunks, squirrels, moles, shrews, rabbits and chickens are “surplus killers”, often killing more than they can consume And they are occasional cannibals! Previously I posted two images from this encounter with a cannibalistic weasel at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. These three photos are new to my blog. This weasel had killed one of its kin and was trying to run with the body along the road at the refuge. It was having a very difficult time carrying that long corpse through all the vegetation, which was probably the only thing that slowed it down enough for me to manage…
Long-tailed Weasels are obligate carnivores (eat meat exclusively), preying largely on smaller rodents but also take rabbits, chipmunks and birds – including poultry. They take down prey several times their size and occasionally go on killing sprees triggered by the smell of blood. Long-tailed Weasel, summer molt Their long black tipped tail, slender bodies and darker brown coloration above with creamy white ventral parts are identifying features. The very similar Short-tailed Weasel is smaller and has whiter feet. In this case the prey is another weasel While driving the loop road at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge this weasel ran in front of us carrying another weasel that it had apparently killed. Weasels are cannibalistic at times and I’m relatively certain that this kill was destined as a meal rather than the kill being made simply out of aggression because the winning weasel was very reluctant to abandon its prize even with us very close. It took a great effort for the weasel to carry its long-bodied kin through the grasses and reeds and it simply would not abandon it. Hopping with it’s prey Here you can get a feel for how difficult it was to drag the long body through all the obstructions so most of the time it would hop forward, one jump at a time, presumably with its burrow as a goal. Long-tailed Weasel, winter molt As winter approaches, northern weasels molt to white (while retaining the black tipped tail) – the advantage of this is obvious. Interestingly, many weasels living in the southern part of their range…
