Weasels (1 Viewer)

helenol · Oct 28, 2004

I found another new mammal in the garden today, what looks to be a weasel, very very long, tan coat with white underparts. I almost came face to face with him when I went outside. I was stood next to the wall at the bottom of the grassy/mossy bank, and he popped his head up - about 12 inches from me.
Stayed there for a few seconds then scarpered.

My question is: Do they eat voles? Since he is in the vicinity where a lot of the bank voles are, and I haven't seen that many of late, could he be the reason why?

robinm · Oct 28, 2004

Hi Helen,

I assume it was a weasel and not a stoat ? Either way I think any small rodents will be at risk.

very boring banned member · Oct 28, 2004

My answer is: definitely maybe. These little Mustelas eat even bigger animals than they are themselves.

helenol · Oct 28, 2004

Robin, yes, I thought of stoat too, but I didn't get chance to notice the tail, whether it had a black tip or not. Also, not having seen either of them before, and being hopeless judging sizes, I'm going for weasel for now.

Hopefully I'll get a pic of it for i.d. purposes. I'll buy some frozen mice, and leave one as bait...

robinm · Oct 28, 2004

helenol said:
I'm going for weasel for now.

As my Dad used to say " a stoat is toatally different to a weasel". (Only works if you say it) o

I must say I am always surpised how small weasels are - saw one the other day at Dungeness.

saluki · Oct 28, 2004

helenol said:
I found another new mammal in the garden today, what looks to be a weasel, very very long, tan coat with white underparts. I almost came face to face with him when I went outside. I was stood next to the wall at the bottom of the grassy/mossy bank, and he popped his head up - about 12 inches from me.
Stayed there for a few seconds then scarpered.

My question is: Do they eat voles? Since he is in the vicinity where a lot of the bank voles are, and I haven't seen that many of late, could he be the reason why?

They certainly do. They can often follow a vole down any tunnel or run it tries to escape down - bitch weasels in particular are tiny.

"Hopefully I'll get a pic of it for i.d. purposes. I'll buy some frozen mice, and leave one as bait..."

You could try it - they will eat carrion (though a fresh road-kill rabbit might work better than frozen mice) - or at least drink the blood! Some years ago, at lambing time, I left a dead lamb in a shed until I had time to skin it for the dogs. On entering the shed later in the day a movement near the carcass caught my eye. - a few hours later I sat down in the shed to watch. After ten minutes or so a dog weasel came out from under a small stack of hay bales and attempted to feed on the lamb's blood from a small hole just behind the ear!

To see them hunting rabbits is incredible (though stoats are more usually seen hunting adult rabbits) - the rabbit eventually seems to become paralysed and simply lays there, awaiting death, occasionally screaming. They don't seem to have developed a satisfactory escape mechanism for stoats and weasels - unusual IMO.

saluki

helenol · Oct 28, 2004

Blimey saluki, thanks for that! I have visions of my garden resembling a butcher shop soon! Drinking the blood? I'll get the straws out...

Plenty of roadkill round here, I'll keep my eyes peeled. Mind you, if the weasel doesn't take the roadkill, something else will, no doubt.

The mossy bank in question has lots of holes; needless to say, I suppose the weasel has taken care of all "my" voles!

Regards

Elizabeth Bigg · Oct 28, 2004

robinm said:
As my Dad used to say " a stoat is toatally different to a weasel". (Only works if you say it) o

I must say I am always surpised how small weasels are - saw one the other day at Dungeness.

...............and a weasel is weasily recognised!

helenol · Oct 28, 2004

This is where I came "face to face" with it, so to speak, he was hiding in this little crevice just behind the wall.

I wonder what other weird and wonderful mammals the bank is harbouring, given there is rotting wood, a knackered brick wall, loads of moss etc...

Elizabeth Bigg · Oct 28, 2004

Not a mammal - but Stag Beatles need rotting wood! We were a bit concerned when we found stag beetles on several occasions near our back gate (it's only 14 years old). However, early this year we noticed that our bluetit box on one of the trees along our boundary (but actually in our neighbour's garden) was leaning at a very strange angle. We then realised that the tree was totally rotted at its base, and was resting against the next tree. Fortunately we managed to retrieve the box before any damaged occurred to the camera and cables, and after the tree was removed, managed to replace it in a nearby tree - and Fluffy came back to nest there again!

Anthony Morton · Oct 28, 2004

saluki said:
They certainly do. They can often follow a vole down any tunnel or run it tries to escape down - bitch weasels in particular are tiny.

Hi saluki,

The old 'uns around here used to say that a weasel could pass through a wedding ring.

Elizabeth Bigg · Oct 28, 2004

Anthony Morton said:
Hi saluki,

The old 'uns around here used to say that a weasel could pass through a wedding ring.

Man's or woman's ring? (Though I suppose in those days men would not have worn wedding rings).

Chigrl · Oct 28, 2004

Definitely YES. They do eat voles, mice, rats, shrews and even rabbits.

Chigrl · Oct 28, 2004

robinm said:
As my Dad used to say " a stoat is toatally different to a weasel". (Only works if you say it) o

I must say I am always surpised how small weasels are - saw one the other day at Dungeness.

It is suprising! The first time I ever saw one I thought it was a chipmunk.

helenol · Oct 28, 2004

Chigrl said:
Definitely YES. They do eat voles, mice, rats, shrews and even rabbits.

Thanks for that Chigrl, so much for the shrew I found the other day...!

Anthony Morton · Oct 28, 2004

Elizabeth Bigg said:
Man's or woman's ring? (Though I suppose in those days men would not have worn wedding rings).

I'm really not sure but I suspect they meant a woman's wedding ring for the reason that few men would have worn one as you suggest.

saluki · Oct 29, 2004

Anthony Morton said:
I'm really not sure but I suspect they meant a woman's wedding ring for the reason that few men would have worn one as you suggest.

Hi Anthony,

Mustelids seem adept at flattening themselves to creep through the smallest of spaces, but they might struggle with the width of a wedding ring (and, hey, this is pure speculation - I've never tried to force a weasel through a wedding ring ! ). Having said that, I've seen some tiny bitch weasels, so small that they could lay on the palm of my hand, with the snout touching my wrist and the tail just hanging over the end of my middle finger (the particular one I'm thinking of I picked up on a Boxing day shoot some years ago - so, though it may have been a juvenile, it was probably fully grown).

Having seen foxes bolt from tiny, two-holed rabbit warrens, roe deer creep through holes in fences that one would think a rabbit would have problems with, and rabbits bolt from tiny bolt holes that didn't look sufficiently large enough for a rat to creep through - nothing would really surprises me!

saluki

Nina P · Oct 29, 2004

Helen, we had one here and it decimated a full nest of Housemartins, in the year they raised three broods, also smashed up the nest. My neighbour used to breed birds until that year, as he found every egg smashed in the boxes and the birds in a state of shock. He first blamed rats, then cats, (mine got it in the rump) until the old tom killed it and laid it out on the lawn..... at great risk to himself too, and the female cat tried to deal with a stoat about the same time, the tom is now deceased and she is three legged and nearly 17, so not able to hunt any more. The neighbour got rid of his birds. I do know we still have stoats, they are more grey/brown but weasels are more russet coloured, I think my way for ID is weasels and foxes are most often the same colour, but stoats are more easily unseen as they lurk in dark places. If you see one cross the road the red coat is a good way for ID but the stoat is just a flash of grey over grey, and do they move!!!

Anthony Morton · Oct 29, 2004

saluki said:
Hi Anthony,

Mustelids seem adept at flattening themselves to creep through the smallest of spaces, but they might struggle with the width of a wedding ring (and, hey, this is pure speculation - I've never tried to force a weasel through a wedding ring ! ). Having said that, I've seen some tiny bitch weasels, so small that they could lay on the palm of my hand, with the snout touching my wrist and the tail just hanging over the end of my middle finger (the particular one I'm thinking of I picked up on a Boxing day shoot some years ago - so, though it may have been a juvenile, it was probably fully grown).

Having seen foxes bolt from tiny, two-holed rabbit warrens, roe deer creep through holes in fences that one would think a rabbit would have problems with, and rabbits bolt from tiny bolt holes that didn't look sufficiently large enough for a rat to creep through - nothing would really surprises me!

saluki

Hi saluki,

I've certainly haven't seen a weasel pass through a wedding ring either but as far as I'm concerned it's a case of 'never say never' where anything to do with nature is concerned. I also strongly advise that we don't try to put the theory to the test, otherwise there are most certainly going to be some sore and bloodied fingers about!

It's also interesting that you refer to male weasels as 'dogs' and the females as 'bitches'. This is how we still refer to ferrets in these parts, although I understand that they should be more correctly described as 'hobs' (male) and 'jills' (female) - would this perhaps be more 'politically correct' for weasels and stoats as well do you think?

Very little experience with deer around here - other than Muntjac thanks to their introduction by a previous Duke of Bedford at Woburn and their subsequent (assisted?) escape. However, I have seen a fox come out of an impossibly small drain and, to my cost, have many times ignored what later proved to be a rabbit's 'sneaky' bolt-hole when netting up. And have you ever noticed the look of total disgust on the ferret's face when this happens? It's just as well they can't talk!

Anthony

CJW · Oct 29, 2004

Anthony Morton said:
I'm really not sure but I suspect they meant a woman's wedding ring for the reason that few men would have worn one as you suggest.

I wouldn't want a mustid anywhere near my ring....

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