Today there was a Chestnut backed chickadee in the Elderberry stump tangle
next to my driveway. It seemed to me to be exceptional loud and it was
continuously calling. Within a minute a group of 7-8 other chickadees flew
in, mixed CBC and Black capped and they all joined in the loud banter,
flying from branch to branch. I thought it might be some sort of chickadee
flash mob but when a Steller's jay flew in and joined the rave I figured
something was up. Or down in this case. After a bit there was movement
from under the stump, and I thought at first it was a stray cat. The animal
fled down the driveway, and revealed a weasel! The Jay flew over it,
announcing its presence to the world and the chickadees settled back down.
I decided to try and follow the mammal and it got several more looks by
simply following the Jay which tailed the weasel several hundred yards all
the way out of the woods and into some thick brush cover. The jay
ladder-climbed up a cedar on the edge of the area and kept watch but the
mammal either hunkered down or eluded the bird. The feeder on the other
side of the house was low and as I went to fill it, a deer mouse scampered
out from under cover. It gave me an interesting connection. I feed birds
who hang around, and mice eat the seed spilled by the birds. The mice
attract a weasel to which I am alerted to by the birds I feed. And around
the circle goes.....

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County