Can you see the little ermine in the picture above? Its sparkling eyes rival the sparkles on the fresh fallen snow. It caught my eye this morning as I was walking at sunrise along the Salt Marsh Trail.
In the winter, the stoat’s fur changes from brown to pure white, except for the very tip of its tail, which remains black. During this phase, the stoat is known as an ermine. To see this elusive creature is considered good luck by the Japanese. They are mostly nocturnal but sometimes will show themselves at dusk and dawn.
This ermine had the typical long skinny body of its species and moved very fast. It’s also supposed to be an excellent swimmer. Stoats or ermines are carnivores and would likely find a plentiful supply of food in the marsh: voles, red squirrels, snowshoe hares, birds and fish. They are capable of taking down prey larger than themselves. Stoats are preyed upon by coyotes and foxes. They may be killed by domestic cats if they dare to venture into residential areas.
The tracks above were photographed near the spot where I saw the ermine this morning. This is the first time I’ve seen this little creature in the snow. Seeing it put a sparkle on the whole morning walk.
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Oh! Seeing this put a sparkle in my whole day, too! Darn s/he’s cute–but can take down a coyote you say? Whoa. Miss Sadie and the Cowboy are turning this information over in a thoughtful manner.
Gerry it sure is cute! I must re-word that sentence. Ermines can take down animals larger than themselves, such as hares, but it’s the ermines that are eaten by foxes and coyotes which are considerably larger.
Beautiful shots in the snow. Another good reason to get up early, I suppose.
Yes Steve, one of the very many good reasons to get up early 🙂
That little one is absolutely begging for its story to be told. Lucky you.
Yousei, they are supposed to be solitary creatures unless they are females caring for their young. I do wonder what it was doing darting in and out among those rocks.
So, you caught your luck when you saw the ermine. :)) Congratulations!
The blog was much like vocabulary lesson for me 😀 Stoat, ermine, voles, etc. I do not see much these words in other blogs, books or anything. So, thank you for that!
Nadezhda, I was very lucky to see it as it was so well camouflaged in the snow. Ermine fur has been used to trim royal robes for centuries. That was the first time I ever heard of the word.
Oh! Oh! Oh! Adorable ermine! With sparkly eyes! What a gift, what a gift for all of us to see. Must get outside RIGHT NOW if there are treasures such as ermine to be enchanted with.
Kathy, it seemed quite friendly and kept coming closer before it scurried into the woods. It made up for that partridge that definitely did not want to have its photo taken in the backyard earlier this week.
Amy Lynn, I have enough trouble getting bundled up and out the door by 9 for a walk … you are a wonder getting up before sunrise. Do you walk or drive to the trail ? It’s amazing that you got that pic of the ermine. Wonderful shot.
Sybil, that would be too long a walk to the trail so I get there by car. The other morning there was a fox winding its way along Dyke Road in the very early morning as I was heading out.
I had seen some other mustelid out there this spring but didn’t get a good enough glimpse of it to see if it was a mink, otter, stoat or weasel.
Lovely lesson in nature today and what a treat to be able to share your little critter! I’m with Sybil in admiration of your getting up so early but thanx…so we get a bit of the benefit of your walks!
What a cute little animal! I have never seen or heard about it, – so sweet. I had to read more at the web. The nature around you seem to be so interesting.
Oh how super cute! I love this little guy. May you have a very lucky year from this little ermine 🙂
Wow, that’s cute! How easy it is for the ermine to hide in the winter 😛
Cindy Lou, giid, Jessica and Masy, I’m glad you enjoyed this post. The ermine got out from its hole in the rocks and scampered around a bit but none of the photos I took of it in motion turned out. It was very early and the natural light was still pretty dim – one of the down sides of trying to take photos on the automatic setting at dawn.
So many people walk through life without lifting their heads to see the world around them. If they only knew what they might be missing.
That lil guy is awfully cute. Thanks for sharing.
Kate, your comment reminded me of a painting by Norman Rockwell called ‘Lift Up Thine Eyes.’ You can see it at
http://www.rockwelllicensing.com/home_family.html
Just scroll down to the fifth row.
I wonder how many times I’ve walked by this little creature (or his relatives) before finally taking notice.
wow, you have a good eye to have spot that little cutie. i’m enjoying all the winter posts. thanks!
You’re welcome Wind.
Like the Japanese, I consider it good luck to see one too! If it weren’t for the black tip on it’s tail, I probably wouldn’t even have noticed the one outside my window the other day. Lucky for me, I had my glasses with me.
Grace, I didn’t get to see the tip of its tail until it ran out from its hiding spot in the rocks. I wonder how many times I’ve been near them in the woods and never noticed.
I believe this may have been the creature that killed my chickens this morning/last night. It was suggested it was a mink, but after seeing this post and another neighbor saying a white mink-like creature killed her chickens a month ago, I think we found the killer.
Your blog is helpful when doing local detective work!
Hi Sarah, sorry to read about your chickens’ fate. Ermines are cute but blood-thirsty creatures that go for the jugular on warm-blooded prey. I’ve heard of their nasty work elsewhere in Cow Bay. Glad you found the site helpful 🙂