A winter white ermine in Minnesota
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- March 16, 2018
- 4092
A short-tailed weasel or ermine carrying a freshly caught vole.
While birding near Duluth, Minnesota in February, one of our most interesting experiences was watching a weasel hunt and catch what we think was a vole. The short-tailed weasel is called an ermine when in its winter white.
We first saw the ermine running along the side of the road while we were looking for owls. It raced back and forth, clearly chasing something. Eventually it flushed the vole and quickly caught it. Paying no attention to us, the ermine then dashed across the road and made its way along the snow bank, probably heading for a safe place for breakfast. None of us had ever seen anything like this before.
The ermine was pure white with a black tip on the tail. Someone later told us that when a mouse or vole gets flushed out in minus 25 F, it soon gets too cold to move quickly, making it easy prey for the ermine.
Meanwhile back in Ohio and Indiana in mid-March, there are lots of reports from area birders. Snowy owls are still being seen every day, making this a winter to remember. All the rare geese have been reported recently with greater white-fronted being seen more often than snow, cackling and Ross’s. Sandhill cranes and tundra swans are still moving through as well.
The number of ducks seems to have dropped off somewhat over the last week or so. It will be interesting to see how the Shreve Migration Sensation went this year. I know folks were looking forward to both the birding and the speakers at this annual event. I wish I could have been there, especially to hear Benjamin Yoder talk about his record-breaking bicycle big year.
The number of rare gulls still being seen along the Lake Erie shoreline in Cleveland is nothing short of amazing. There have been many photos of multiple Iceland and glaucous gulls along with both lesser and greater black-backed gulls. One morning Jen Brumfield found a beautiful adult California gull in the mix.
As far as I know, there has never been a winter showing of white-winged gulls like this before. It would be interesting to know why this is happening. Along Lake Michigan here in Indiana there are no such gatherings of gulls, only isolated reports of single rare gulls from time to time.
New arrivals being reported lately include several pine warblers, the first purple martin, lots of blackbirds, killdeer and robins. We still have pine siskins at our feeders every day. I finally heard a barred owl calling the other afternoon on my daily walk. I knew that a pair was nesting in the pine woods near our place, but I hadn’t heard or seen them all through January and February.
I’m now thinking about spring hawk migration, waiting for a warmer day with south winds. It’s time to see migrant red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks as well as lots of turkey vultures.
Good birding.
Reach Bruce Glick at birderbruce@yahoo.com or 330-317-7798.