To my delight a weasel popped up in my front garden this morning and poked
around for 20 minutes. I snuck out on the front porch trying to get a photo
but spooked the little predator across the road. As it moved North I was
able to follow its progress by the alarm calls of the robins. I quietly
tracked the weasel based on the Robin calls as it headed east into the
woods. I had to make a detour to get to a trail but again the robin alarms
directed me. I came upon 2 Song sparrows also alarm calling and based on
their position I made a guess which way the weasel was heading. A minute
later it popped up right in front of me then dove under some brush. I
waited five minutes hoping it would come out again, but a Robin alarm went
off several hundred feet away. My quarry was moving fast. I was finally
stopped by an impenetrable thicket of Blackberry with a towhee alarming at
the highest part of the thicket. A few minutes later another Robin alarm
went off well on the other side of the thicket and I gave up the chase. I
thanked the Robins silently for their help as I never would have seen the
weasel a second time without their help.



I am not sure if its just a coincidence but we just finished the foundation
work for our chicken coop. Hmmm first time in 22 years a weasel shows up in
my yard and we are just about to put 12 chickens outside.



Rob Sandelin

Naturalist, Writer, Teacher

Snohomish Co.