Last Saturday a visitor stopped by the Nature Center to report a sighting of what he thought was a Longtail Weasel…
He spotted it at twilight popping out of a burrow.  It had the characteristic white blotch on it’s face.  It was a plausible sighting.  We know that Longtail Weasels hunt for rodents near water, nest in old burrows and are nocturnal.

I followed the visitor to the burrow with my camera, hoping to spot some tracks.  Here’s what I found.  I can’t be sure – but it’s possible these are its tracks.

Here’s a link from the US Bureau of Land Management for a picture and more information: https://doi1.ios.doi.gov/blmcawildlife.nsf
Or you can go to the Digital Library at Berkley and type in Long-tailed Weasel  ttp://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/fauna/

2.  This week we had an unconfirmed report of a Black Bear sighted at the top of East/Rice Canyon.

3.  We have a Fire Ecology hike scheduled at Whitney on Saturday from 8-10.  According to the Ranger, the recent rains have resulted in some erosion but no slopes have given way.