Tweets,

We see weasels regularly, if not often, where we live along upper Scatter Ck. in Thurston County. They have denned in a rock pile on our property along the creek, and recently one walked back and forth through the front garden carrying a dead vole in its mouth, while we sat 10' away. All the weasels we've seen well have so far been Long-tailed Weasel I believe, with tan to brown feet in summer rather than the year-round white feet of Short-tailed Weasel (Ermine). If a weasel stops or stands for a moment, you may be able to see the feet clearly. There's a photo of a white-footed Short-tailed Weasel from this region at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuqui/2633456116/

I've seen weasels in a variety of places in lowland Western Washington, and one seeming constant has been tall grassy or brushy cover nearby, such as an overgrown roadside. Which may help account for seeing them as roadkills too, fairly regularly. All three North American weasels may molt into white fur in winter where there are sufficient number of days with snow cover, but they seem to stay brown through the winter around Puget Sound.

Bob

Bob Sundstrom
Tenino, Washington
ixoreus at scattercreek.com