I’ve been trying a new technique with my camera called “back button focusing” and so today I went a walk up through fields to try and practise it on the hares I normally see there. But typically wildlife doesn’t appear to order -no hares were seen at all. So I put my heavy camera into my rucksack to carry. Then making my way along a seldom used quadbike track what should I see but a couple of stoats cavorting in front of me!
Hastily I whipped my rucksack off, fumbled with the zip, snatched at the camera and tossed aside the lens cap. Then with thumb on the “back button” and forefinger on the shutter button I tried to capture the action. Thankfully the playful duo hadn’t moved off the track and hadn’t heard all my panicky kerfuffling.
Stoats are bigger than weasels and have black tails. A way to remember the difference is that weasels are wee and stoats are “stoaters”!
The stoats were wrestling, rolling and crazily darting about. One turned to look at me and I was thrilled to get a shot of its cute wee face before it followed its playmate and disappeared back into the bracken.
Lesson learnt from today : Never put the camera away when on a walk, always expect the unexpected.
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 