Friday 21 October 2011

Stoatally lost wood mouse at Cissbury Ring

stoat
The South Downs were cloud covered today. I could see clear skies to the north, but we did not benefit. My trip to Cissbury Ring was devoid of butterflies. Mark joined me and we checked out the north west slope then moved through the gorse where Mark spotted a weasel. We hung around the area for an hour or so and had a number of sightings. For some reason it had abandoned a freshly killed wood mouse and it came back to find it, but was unsuccessful even though it nearly bumped into it. Several wrens gave loud calls warning of the weasel's presence. A Dartford Warbler also showed itself.
Reported to the Mammal Society on record MSALL20992 (click here for recording form)
Note: I originally reported the sighting as a stoat but the Mammal Society informed me it is a weasel!
dawn
White Campion
umbillifer
Devil's-bit Scabious

looking east to The Seven Sisters


Wren
Wren
Wren
Dartford Warbler
Stoat




its searching for the freshly killed mouse
nearly found it

1 comment:

  1. Amazing as usual Col.

    We (me and G) were lucky enough to spot a young roe deer before it saw us a couple of days ago and we watched it for a good 10 minutes before it disappeared into the hedge rows. My first thought was 'where's the bloody camera?' but did manage to relax and enjoy the moment.

    Particularly enjoyed the wren photos. Such a tiny, yet brutally agressive bird. I wouldn't want to be an attacking stoat facing a stance like that!

    D&G x

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