For those of you who, like me, didn’t know what a mustelid is: a mustelid is a long, thin- bodied, carnivorous mammal.
We have now recorded 6 species on the reserve: badger, mink, weasel, stoat, polecat (ferret/polecat) and the elusive otter.
A week ago the trail camera caught this shot which is either a true polecat or a ferret/polecat cross.
If you're wondering how we identified this as a polecat, when you look at the face you can see that it is not a uniform colour, there is a dark patch across the eyes.
When you compare this to the mink you can see the difference.
Please ignore the dates on some of the pictures, I keep forgetting to reset the date and time on the camera.
For those of you who regularly read the blog, you will know that I have been trying for about 18 months to catch an otter on camera, so you can imagine my delight yesterday when the picture below was revealed. I was so excited, I was jumping up and down and running round the office. I was like a child at Christmas.
It looks as though it is a good healthy male (from the size).
I thought you might like a reminder of the badger that the camera picked up.
I'm still excited and want to go and check the camera all the time but, as I've learnt, patience is a great virtue.
I just need to catch the weasel and stoat on camera now and I will have the complete set.