Stoat kills rabbit

The highlight of a day’s walking in the Rhinogydd is usually getting to a summit, enjoying a fine view or reaching the end with a sense of achievement. But this weekend’s excitement was complete before my bootlaces were tied.

While kneeling to put on my boots, by the farm at the far end of Cwm Nantcol, I heard a small scream and twenty metres away was a stoat with its teeth in the neck of a struggling rabbit.  I stumbled forward with my camera and the stoat retreated. Rising up on its hind legs, as if to say don’t you dare touch my rabbit, the stoat took refuge in a nearby stone wall.

A few seconds later, out it came towards the rabbit, but my dog barked and off it ran back into the wall. If I’d been on my own I would have hung around to see what happened next but my fellow walkers were keen to get going.

Within a minute of setting off, on a slate slab across a stream, was a fresh otter spraint. Surely this walk was going to be a great safari.    

Easter week

Migrating tourists started to arrive and the weather put on a spectacularly varied performance. On the first wet day I was taken for an explore 600 metres or so into Rhosydd Quarry overlooking Cwm Croesor – it took the Victorian miners eight years to build the main adit on level 9, working in both directions and meeting at exactly the right spot without the aid of laser gadgets. Not much sign of wildlife inside except a few cavers emerging out of the inky darkness.

The following day we had blizzard conditions in the mountains giving a perfect excuse to catch up on office work and participate in my Natur Cymru meeting by audio conference. Sunshine broke through the following day and although the list of chores was long there was nothing for it but to go up the mountain and enjoy the snow drifts. I can’t describe in words how much fun that was but here’s the film: 

Dry and occasionally sunny conditions continued making for good progress in the vegetable patch. A passing bird watcher said she thought she’d heard a redstart but I’ve still not seen it. She pointed out a vigourous patch of opposite leaved golden saxifrage growing in the boggy bits outside our barn. Now I know its name it’s more special to me. 

opposite leaved golden saxifrage

One of the highlights was the weasel which hopped onto the kitchen window sill at breakfast time and brought a vole or mouse out of a drainage pipe. Subsequent slow motion analysis of the video footage revealed a bit of black on the tail so the majority think it was a stoat.

Monday was a wash out, the only redeeming feature a chance to catch up with Country Focus on the BBC iPlayer. This week was the second of an excellent five part series on the Wales Coast Path which is presented by Jane Davidson. The path opens on the 5^th May and there is a great article about it in the current edition of Natur Cymru.