Stoat droppings? Came across several of these droppings in the barn. On the wooden floor they are surrounded by a sizeable damp patch, (see photo) presumably urine. I believe them to be those of a stoat, and have had sightings of one in the garden recently.
While checking on the internet I found it surprising how few websites feature stoat droppings, or weasel and mink. But guessing at stoat I googled that and from a description I believe this is what they are.
Daughter saw a stoat at the bottom of our sheep field a coup[e of days back. A first sighting for here, though we thought there would be some. I'll suggest she keeps a lookout for droppings too!
In the article I found online it says that the droppings are usually found singly, but there were several in the same place on the barn floor, quite a few around and in a plastic tray I put down to catch drips from the roof. Despite there being one heck of a lot of rain here lately there was hardly any water in the tray. So I'm wondering if it's made it's home inside the wall of the barn and drinks from the tray. I had a delightful encounter with one recently. I watched for a while as it ran out of a border onto the grass and did some very agile dancing about and somersaulting then back into the border. This continued for some time then it made its way under cover of the plants, towards me. It popped up and we looked at each other for a few seconds. It looked so smart and quite the gentleman, so I said 'Hello.' Of course it ran off then, but I'll never forget it.
I was early for an optician appointment today (ironically as it turns
out) so I had a walk along the river to see what was around. I was
kicking myself for not bringing a proper camera when I saw this
Peregrine sat on a roof watching the pigeons. It was raining and it
didn’t seem keen to move so I got as close as I could before
taking a photo with my phone. It was only when I reviewed the photo and
zoomed in that I realised it was made of plastic The optician said my eyes were fine…
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Not a very good pic as it was through the kitchen window while I was washing up. I didn't catch him at his most acrobatic when he was completely upside down.
I had a pair of willow warblers two days ago as well, but it was almost impossible to get a photo. The one I got isn't great at all. Lovely to see them though, jinking around in the cotoneaster and clematis.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Two female pheasants just had a wander round the garden. Their colouring is such that they blended in really well with all the fallen leaves. The last pheasant we had here was a male, and I saw a fox carrying it off in broad daylight.
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https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/blue-ground-beetle-uk-largest-dartmoor-b2230560.html
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Came across several of these droppings in the barn. On the wooden floor they are surrounded by a sizeable damp patch, (see photo) presumably urine.
I believe them to be those of a stoat, and have had sightings of one in the garden recently.
While checking on the internet I found it surprising how few websites feature stoat droppings, or weasel and mink. But guessing at stoat I googled that and from a description I believe this is what they are.
I had a delightful encounter with one recently. I watched for a while as it ran out of a border onto the grass and did some very agile dancing about and somersaulting then back into the border. This continued for some time then it made its way under cover of the plants, towards me. It popped up and we looked at each other for a few seconds. It looked so smart and quite the gentleman, so I said 'Hello.' Of course it ran off then, but I'll never forget it.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
I had a pair of willow warblers two days ago as well, but it was almost impossible to get a photo. The one I got isn't great at all. Lovely to see them though, jinking around in the cotoneaster and clematis.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...