Ermine on Beeley Moor

Although I see Stoat (Mustela erminea) reasonably regularly on Beeley Moor this is the first time, in almost 15 years, that I have seen it in its white winter coat. I saw one in the typical brown coat in December but this is the second sighting of a white one this winter so it may be as a result of the unusually prolonged periods that the moor has been under snow this winter. The Stoat today was white, apart from the tail tip of course, but with a fawn stripe about a centimetre wide running down its back presumably the start of the spring moult. It ran along the wall from the crossroads at the eastern end of the triangle down towards the Cathole.


Thanks to Ken Smith for the photo.